Moving On
by Reparata
Summary: Penny and Leonard are engaged. Sheldon is trying to cope with the constant changes in his life and not succeeding until...well, read it and find out. Written in response to a challenge so you Shennys & Lennys will find what you're all seeking - someone's happy ending. EVERYONE makes an appearance and plays a role leading up to the concluding chapter.
1. Shifting Paradigms

Written for a VD challenge. Last time I wrote for a challenge...well, better left buried and forgotten. This is finished and will be in 4 parts culminating on that most august of days...Thursday.

Reparata

* * *

April 2013

Apartment 4A

Saturday 8:00PM

Sheldon gathered his soiled laundry and performed the obligatory sorting between whites and colors, and then set the laundry basket aside and took a sip of his Mountain Dew, smacking his lips quietly in utter satisfaction.

He had the apartment to himself and reveled in the sense of isolation it provided. Leonard was eating dinner at Penny's apartment and he was free from his whining and sniping. Since getting back with Penny, his not-so-subtle jabs at Sheldon had seemed to intensify until there was a palpable friction between the two of them.

Noting the time, he finished his refreshing beverage and rinsed the can out in the sink and then crushed it slowly with his fingers until it resembled a gaily-colored hockey puck and tossed it into the recycle bin. He stooped and picked up his laundry basket and headed down to the laundry room exactly on time.

He was preparing his wash when Penny rushed in and hugged him from behind, babbling about how happy she was and how she wanted him to be the first to know.

"Sheldon, Leonard asked me to marry him." She held up her left hand and Sheldon saw the small diamond ring that Leonard had picked up at a pawnshop.

He looked at her beaming face, her beautiful smile, and quashed his feelings of despair and put on what his momma called his non-smile smile. It didn't quite reach his eyes and if Penny'd looked closely she would have seen how hard it was for him to maintain it.

"Congratulations, Penny. I hope you'll be very happy." He smiled his non-smile smile again and then turned back to his laundry, grabbing everything and stuffing into one machine.

"Um, sweetie, you didn't separate the colors from the whites."

"I've washed the colored garments so many times that I sincerely doubt that any dye remains that might stain my whites. Besides one must change with the times even though it makes little or no sense."

"See, honey, it's quicker this way. You're finally getting your act together. Well, I just wanted you to be the first to know, Moon Pie. You've been my best friend for so long…"

"Penny, please don't call me…oh, never mind." Penny just laughed and stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

"I've got to tell Amy!" and she was gone, off to spread the good news of her impending nuptials.

"God DAMN it!" His box of Tide burst against the wall, the fine powder creating a suspension of soap particles that clogged the air. His bottle of fabric softener crashed against the far wall followed by his folding machine that shattered into various shards of plastic.

* * *

"Hey, buddy, are you alright?" Leonard looked over at Sheldon who hadn't said a thing on the way to CalTech. Other than 'Good morning, Leonard' and 'The light is green, Leonard', he hadn't engaged in inane conversation that normally drove Leonard straight up the wall.

This morning had been different. No idle conversation, no chatter, nothing but silence.

"So, Penny told you the news?" He squinted over at his roommate, his glasses rising on his nose in inquiry.

"Yes. She will be a beautiful bride. Just keep her and Rajesh away from the open bar at the reception. You don't wish a repeat of that night." They both remembered the night Penny had slept with Raj and the pain they both felt at her walk of shame.

"Well, we're together now so if she ends up drunk at our reception it'll still be me who ends up in bed with her."

Neither said anything for the remainder of the drive until Leonard turnrf off the engine in his parking spot and said, "See you at lunch, buddy," and started to walk off but stopped when Sheldon said, "Not today. I've scheduled interviews for my new assistant throughout the noon hour."

"Sheldon, since when do you rate an assistant?" Leonard was immediately envious of the man he quietly referred to as 'Doctor Mantis' when discussing Sheldon's latest antics in the faculty lunchroom.

"Since Dr. Gabelhauser realized that performing the more mundane tasks associated with my position robbed me of vital time I could far better spend doing research and lessening the time remaining until I bring a Nobel Prize home to CalTech."

"That's nice, Sheldon. Just don't set your standards too high. Not many people will be able to handle your unique management style." What he meant to say was 'not many people will be able to tolerate your idiot ways'.

"True. But one must choose from the available pool as set forth by Human Resources." His voice carried the scorn he felt for the HR department.

"Listen, I was thinking…with Penny and I engaged and living just across the hall from one another that it would make sense if we simply moved in together in her apartment. We could save money for a decent honeymoon and I'm sure you'll be able to find someone to replace me who won't be bringing home beautiful blondes who engage in very loud coitus."

Sheldon sighed and shook his head. Another change in his environment and another challenge to be met.

"I think you should do whatever you have to in order to make Penny happy, Leonard. I'll post an advert in the University on-line classifieds immediately."

"Really? You're okay with this? I mean, I thought you'd…object or throw the Roommate Agreement in my face. I'm impressed with how well you're handling a constantly shifting paradigm in your life, Sheldon. Bravo!"

Sheldon stopped and uncharacteristically laid a large hand on Leonard's shoulder just as they reached the point at which Leonard normally turned down another corridor to the Experimental Physics labs.

"I would never do anything to impede or obstruct any act which makes Penny as happy as she was on Saturday night. Or you, for that matter. Have a good and productive day recreating the cutting edge works of others, Leonard."

His veiled jab at Leonard went unnoticed or appreciated but that was just as well. What he really meant to say was 'I want her to be happy and if she thinks she can be happy with someone like you then so be it'.

Leonard almost skipped down the corridor to his assigned lab. He had avoided a potentially nasty situation with Sheldon and he was already planning on telling Penny the good news. They hadn't discussed it but then it made good financial sense and he would poo-poo any of her objections and get his way.

* * *

The first two candidates were totally unacceptable for reasons that should have immediately disqualified them in the preliminary interviews conducted by that horrid woman in HR.

He found his 'jewel in the ruff' in his third interview with a post-grad student named Alex Jensen. Her biography suggested a strong work ethic, a dedication to science and best of all, no outside interests other than yoga. Sheldon often meditated using techniques found in the Kolinahr as espoused by his personal hero, Spock, and thus heartily approved of her one and only 'outside activity'.

Alex was short in stature and could be considered aesthetically pleasing having no obvious physical deformities such as a vestigial tale or 6 fingers or large black moles sporting hairs (Howard would have called her 'hot' but that term never entered Sheldon's mind). She was obviously intelligent since her comments regarding his research being 'cutting edge' and 'revolutionary' were well researched and delivered with a certain fawning adoration that reminded him of Ramona Nowitzki but such comments were only a restatement of the truth and thus dismissed as flattery.

"The job is yours, Ms. Jensen. Here is a list of tasks that must be performed as well as my schedule for the next three months. Inasmuch as I'm your advisor for your thesis, we'll meet weekly and review your progress. Your office is across the hall and you may decorate it any way you wish so long as it doesn't violate good taste or common sense. That will be all."

He dismissed her from his mind and didn't notice her still sitting until she said, "Alex, Sheldon. My name is Alex. I do not care much for Ms. Jensen."

"So noted. And my name is Dr. Cooper, Alex. Good day." He turned in his swivel chair, grabbed a marker and made a notation on one of his whiteboards, already dismissing her from his mind.

She turned red in embarrassment and hurriedly left his office. He frightened her with his intense stare and penetrating questions for which he seemed to have preconceived answers and measured hers against his. Still, he was her faculty advisor for her doctoral thesis and they would be spending a lot of time together.

_'I'll wear him down with my efficiency and competence. Working with the foremost mind in theoretical particle physics – the things he can teach me! I'll have my own Nobel Prize before I'm 35.'_

Just as she was opening up the door to leave, Leonard and Raj walked in, intending to ask him to join them for lunch. Leonard still felt ill at ease after this morning's conversation, wondering when the 'Bazinga' would erupt from Sheldon's mouth. He wasn't in the mood for another Mock Trial over his breach of contract.

Sheldon turned at the disturbance to his thoughts and glared at the trio standing in the doorway going through introductions. He intended to work through lunch since his appetite seemed nonexistent since Saturday night.

"If the three of you wouldn't mind taking your annoying disruption to my already disrupted day elsewhere, I would sincerely appreciate it." He spun back around and resumed making notations on his whiteboard.

"Well, Dr. Hofstadter, perhaps you could show me around the labs and then maybe…lunch?" Her eyes caught his and she tossed her head making her long hair shimmer and dance as if in a breeze.

"Well, um, sure. We were just coming to fetch Sheldon for lunch but since he's being in a pissy mood, you can have lunch with Raj and I."

Sheldon recognized Leonard's tone and bristled at what it meant but he stopped, recognizing that he had no right to any concerns – unless he decided to continue this flirtation so soon after becoming engaged.

'Perhaps I should speak to her about Leonard's 'status' and warn her off. Penny would be upset if she knew how quickly he sought out another notch in his pathetically pristine bedpost.'

He ignored the one 'notch' that mirrored the one in his heart. Penny.

Next: Confrontations


	2. Mentoring and Departing

Moving On Chapter 2

Alex tried to defend her position but quickly realized that her advisor was right and that her proposed line of research would fail to yield results that would support her thesis.

"Okay, Dr. Cooper, you win. I see how this project – "

"This isn't a contest, Ms. Jensen, it's your thesis and the only loser here would be the scientific community if you continued on in this direction. You are in unknown scientific territory and the occasional nudge from someone who has failed in similar circumstances is part of my role as your advisor."

She nodded, not at all upset with his conclusion. When she was at Stanford all she heard from the faculty was about Dr. Sheldon Cooper at CalTech. He was something of a folk hero to the nerdiest theoretical physicists there and now she knew why.

She sighed when she thought about all the hours she'd spent following a path that led nowhere.

"Alex," her head jerked up when he called her by her first name, something he'd never done before. "This is just the _first_ time you'll hear that you're pursuing a dead end. Believe me when I say it won't be the last. I once spent a year chasing after something only to realize that the computations I'd used to initiate my study contained an error that changed the outcome to what I wanted."

She looked at him in utter disbelief. He had called her by her first name and then admitted to having wasted time because he'd overlook an error in some arcane formula he'd developed.

"Don't look so surprised, Ms. Jensen. You've discovered something that won't work. You'll do that a lot in Theoretical Particle Physics…it's why it's called 'Theoretical'. Now, go dream up something that will!" His smile was nearly human and his eyes glistened with sincerity and purpose.

"And please close the door as you leave, Ms. Jensen." She gathered up her papers and stuffed them into a folder and left his office, quietly closing the door behind her. It was a ritual with them. He always insisted on having the door open when she was in his office. It was his rule, just one of many, but an ironclad rule that would never be broken.

Sheldon watched her leave, her tight jeans and sweater were pushing his personal boundaries of propriety but so long as the door remained open he felt safe from his baser urges.

He opened up her file and noted the date and time and gave a brief synopsis of the meeting for her evaluation.

She was a brilliant PhD candidate and had a promising career provided she didn't fall victim to some silly biological urge and end up driving a min-van and 2.5 children to soccer practice in the future.

Closing out the file and returning to his own problems, he dismissed her from his mind…almost.

* * *

His phone twirled around on his desk and finally fell off the edge. The sound jarred Sheldon and he glared at the uncooperative symbols on the white board and stooped to pick it up. It was half past seven and once again he'd lost track of the time.

It was a text message from his 'girlfriend', Amy Farrah Fowler, reminding him that he needed to be ready for their farewell dinner at LaSavage for Howard and Bernadette who were moving to Houston for the space program.

He glanced at his Batman Chronometer and cursed – he was going to be late and that was something Sheldon hated in others but absolutely loathed in himself.

He called for a cab and quickly changed into the new suit he'd brought from the house should just such an instance occur. His foresight often astounded him, such was his ego.

* * *

LaSavage

Sheldon paid off the cab and rushed into the restaurant but was met by his group of friends and their dates in the lobby - waiting.

"Hello, I'm dreadfully sorry I'm late. I got caught up in my work and – "

"Yeah, we figured as much and that's why I made the reservations for 8:30 not 8:00, Moon Pie. I know how you get lost in your science-y stuff and I planned for it," said Penny saucily.

"Sheldon, you look very grown up in your new suit! Do you like it, Penny? I picked it out. He looks so good in a gray pinstripes, and the tie matches his cornflower blue eyes exactly," said Amy, hanging on to Sheldon's arm and smiling broadly.

Penny had noticed already. The tie was a perfect match for those blue eyes that seemed to pierce her soul whenever he spoke intently to her about anything at all. If she had to summarize Sheldon Cooper in a word, it would be _intense. _

A waiter came and led them to their table and once everyone was seated, another waiter took their drink orders.

"Jack & Coke." Seven pairs of eyes bulged from their sockets and seven jaws dropped noticeably. Amy was the first to recover and glanced up at her boyfriend with a questioning stare. The look she got back made her quiver. There was an intensity in his gaze that seemed to linger on her lips before he turned his attentions to the menu before him.

Leonard and Penny seemed to be in a quiet debate about something with Leonard saying something that made Penny's lips purse in an angry moue and turn her attention to her plate.

Leonard stood up from the round table and tapped his spoon against his water glass to get everyone's attention, an unnecessary act inasmuch as the small group had already focused on the couple's intense but quiet argument.

"A toast to Howard and Bernadette." Everyone at the table groaned in anticipation of Sheldon's interruption to inform everyone about the origin of the toast but it wasn't forthcoming and Leonard was momentarily at a loss for words but continued on with wishing Howard and Bernadette the usual platitudes. He finally sat down.

Howard rose, teary eyed and thanked them all for their best wishes. He offered up a toast to Leonard and Penny and announced, as prompted earlier by Leonard, their wedding in August and new life in Princeton, New Jersey.

Penny looked over at a grinning Leonard and then bolted from the table, heading to the ladies' room. Bernadette and Amy followed, hoping to learn why she was so upset.

Howard sat down slowly, all joy gone from his face. "Leonard, tell me she knew about this?"

"We hadn't exactly set a date but I wanted…". He was interrupted by Howard's not so quiet "She didn't know you've taken a job at Princeton!?"

"Well, I told her about the offer and she said it was my decision. So I decided. It's not like there's anything here for her, is there?"

Sheldon sat quietly, absorbing the mini-drama as it unfolded, categorizing, attributing motives to the various participants, totally uncertain of what had happened. One thing was certain. The conundrum that often baffled him with regard to romantic relationships was an area fraught with peril to the uninitiated.

Raj leaned past his deaf girlfriend and waggled his fingers at him in greeting, glancing sideways at the Howard/Leonard discussion and shrugging his shoulders.

"Sheldon, were you aware that Leonard was even looking for a position elsewhere? You are his roommate, after all."

Sheldon could see the three girls returning to the table and his only comment to Raj was, "Were. We _were_ roommates."

As the girls returned to their seats, Raj continued his questioning. "But Sheldon, he is your best friend. Surely he confided in you or discussed the pros and cons with you?"

Penny listened intently to the Rah/Sheldon conversation, tuning out her fiancé's attempts to mollify her somehow.

"Best friend? Hardly. A best friend would not have sabotaged my life's work. A best friend would not have mocked me or belittled me, both to my face and far more often, behind my back."

"Sheldon, the four of us are friends." Leonard interjected, uncomfortable with the content and direction of the discussion.

"The _three_ of you are friends. Our apartment became the social focal point of all interaction but when you moved in with Penny, that focal point followed you, Leonard, thus proving my point."

He took another sip of his drink, aware of the silence that had descended on the group and felt guilty for spoiling the event.

"I'm sorry. We're here to say farewell to our – to Howard and Bernadette, so lift your glasses high. L'chaim, Howard and Bernadette. Sot Lat!" *

Howard looked like he was going to cry and Bernadette just grinned at the traditional Polish toast. The others murmured words and the moment passed.

The desserts were served and everyone was talking when Sheldon cleared his throat and calmly said, "This seems an appropriate time to mention that I, too, shall be leaving Pasadena, although only for a brief time. I've accepted an invitation to lecture at the Science Institute in Buenos Aires and have been granted a 6 month sabbatical beginning in June."

"But Sheldon, you'll miss the wedding, buddy," said Leonard. Penny just looked at her best friend sadly.

"Well, if you remember, you were talking about a wedding after the New Year, Leonard, not in August. This decision was made based on your comments. Sadly, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity and I have already signed agreements with the Institute."

"Ames, did you know about this?" Penny was looking hard at her bestie.

"Oh, yes. Sheldon and I discussed it at great length and I agree with him. It is an opportunity that can't be allowed to slip through his grasp."

She looked up at Sheldon and smiled dreamily.

"We'll still Skype and send emails. Nothing will have to change between us. I have several new areas to pursue thanks to a grant from NIMH and I shall be very busy."

The music in the dance area changed and Amy suddenly grinned and grabbed Sheldon's hand.

"The Tango! Oh, Sheldon, they're playing our song!" She dragged him to the dance floor and treated her friends to a tango vaguely reminiscent of the one between Angelina and Brad in _Mr. & Mrs. Jones._

Bernadette elbowed Howard and nodded toward the dance floor but Howard was not a dancer, at least not to the tango. Leonard had a similar response but Raj grabbed his girlfriend by the hand and off they went.

Penny watched as ShAmy became Brangelina and she felt like she had lost something precious.

Amy returned to the table, flushed and excited, not bothering to sit down but saying goodbye to their friends and dragging Sheldon out the door. He didn't look unhappy at all, something they all noticed.

"Oh my God! Someone's going to get lucky tonight!" exclaimed Howard and the others laughed and made the usual comments about Sheldon and Amy and they all laughed except Penny and Raj.

['To life' in Hebrew and literally '100 years' in Polish]


	3. Discoveries and Recriminations

_**Been busy plus my muse has proven to be a fickle bitch. **_

* * *

November 2014

Hofstadter residence  
Princeton, New Jersey

She woke up alone, their California King bed a vast emptiness, not at all what she'd expected when they exchanged their vows in Nebraska. The sheets on his side of the bed were cold, so she knew he'd already driven into Princeton. She hissed when her feet hit the cold parquet floor and her feet frantically searched for her bunny boot slippers in vain.

She hated the cold. She hated New Jersey. She hated everything about her life. She was wife to a man who said he loved her more than air but spent an inordinate amount of time breathing just fine without her. He was on the 'fast track' to tenure, had a full class schedule and meetings and research that seemed to mean more to him than she did.

She was the daughter-in-law of a horrid woman who referred to her as 'that poor girl', and a man she'd only met a few times but who seemed to wither away under his ex-wife's glare whenever he spoke with her for more than a few minutes at Hofstadter family gatherings he felt obligated to attend.

Beverley Hofstadter, the mother-in-law from Hell itself, always asked questions, demanded answers, and passed judgment every time they met. Penny wondered if Beverley called her 'poor girl' because she came from Nebraska and a farm, or whether it was because she didn't measure up to the Hofstadter standard of intelligence or because she'd married her son, her own personal social science experiment.

Either way, the woman cut her on so many levels that the thought of having 'lunch on Tuesdays, dear,' quashed whatever appetite she might have.

She missed California. She missed her friends and although they Skyped irregularly, it just wasn't the same. Video calls couldn't replace the warm and nutty conversations on Thai Night nor any of the other 'Nights' at Leonard's old apartment.

Amy Farrah Fowler no longer accepted her video calls.

**Flashback**

_Her laptop rang with the notification of an incoming video call on Skype. She glanced at the clock and then at the caller – her BFF Amy was calling and she smiled and clicked the 'accept' button._

"_Ames! Hey, sweetie. You're up late, can't sleep?" She took a closer look at her 'bestie'. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was dabbing at her nose with a Kleenex._

"_What's wrong, Amy? Has something happened?"_

"_Tonight Sheldon and I had coitus. It was wonderful, incredible…right up until he whispered your name when he climaxed. Your name, not mine! And do you know what really hurts? He just stopped and looked at me with those beautiful cornflower blue eyes of his and whispered 'I'm sorry, Amy, that just slipped out' and then he rose from my bed and left!"_

_Penny didn't know what to say and it was just as well that she didn't because Amy wasn't quite through with her yet._

"_I just sent an email and terminated our Relationship Agreement due to a breach of trust. Had I such an agreement with you, it would likewise be terminated in extremis for being a backstabbing bitch!"_

_Penny's lips moved but she couldn't make a sound. Amy slammed down the lid of her laptop ending the connection._

_She grabbed her cell and scrolled down the list of contacts until she saw his name and then hit 'Call'. It rang a few times before he answered._

"_Damn it, Sheldon, how could you do that to Amy? How could you do that to someone who loves you?"_

"_You did." Apparently Sheldon felt that was sufficient verbal interaction because he disconnected the call and her subsequent calls all went to voicemail._

It hurt to remember those phone calls. Amy's accusatory voice and Sheldon's terseness brought tears to her eyes even after all this time. Penny ignored what Sheldon had uttered, not ready or willing to accept what it meant.

Leonard had changed their wedding plans without even discussing it with her. Their friends had all been very happy for the couple. Amy had been ecstatic while Sheldon had been subdued. He offered the usual socially required comments and then he and Amy had danced the Tango like Brangelina and left to the catcalls of their friends.

When Leonard moved in with Penny ('to save money for our new life') the group gravitated there for Thai Night and other weekly events.

Sheldon kept the apartment but refused to allow Amy to move into Leonard's old room 'to reduce the financial burden on you, Sheldon'. He had politely told her 'No'.

Things between Amy and Sheldon had gone to hell shortly thereafter and Penny had lost two of her best friends as a result.

'_He didn't come to my wedding. I looked and looked for him during the ceremony, almost missing my lines, but he hadn't come. My best friend couldn't be bothered to come to my wedding.'_

Of course the fact that he was on sabbatical in Argentina had made no difference to her. She still hoped he'd make an appearance as a 'wedding gift'.

She should have known better but it still hurt her. Even Amy had made the trip to Omaha with her 'Plus-1', Stuart from the comic book store.

They had all moved on, the bond that had seemed unbreakable now broken by the passing of time.

Howard and Bernadette moved to Houston for Howard's job with the Space Agency. Amy took up with Stuart (and a few others) while Rajesh had finally found a nice deaf girl who was intrigued by his exotic mannerisms and his bright smile.

Everyone had moved on, adjusting to the new paradigm. Had Sheldon? _'Probably not. There's no one left to interfere with his life. He's probably in his glory, sitting on 'his spot' and watching reruns of Star Trek and Dr. Who.'_

She knew his sabbatical was over and he was probably back in Pasadena in search of the proof of String Theory.

Pulling on a robe, she used the bathroom, brushed her teeth and looked at her washed-out reflection in the mirror. She hardly recognized the person she saw. She'd gained 15 pounds. Her green eyes didn't sparkle and her hair seemed dull and lifeless. This reflection wasn't California Penny. This was New Jersey Penny.

Sighing, she walked downstairs to their brightly painted kitchen and swore when she saw his breakfast bowl and coffee cup still on the table in the breakfast nook.

'_Jesus, Leonard, would it kill you to rinse them out and put them in the dishwasher, for Christ's sake? I'm not a waitress or a maid – '_

She blinked back tears that formed and she reached into her robe pocket for the pill bottle and dry swallowed two of the small white tablets that would see her through the morning.

It was Tuesday and that meant lunch with Beverley. In the months she'd been married and living in New Jersey, she'd come to dread Tuesdays.

* * *

She had several hours to kill and the pills had kicked in and she busied herself with her chores and prepared for her errands, her mood artificially enhanced thanks to the wonders of modern science.

Things were fine until she was getting Leonard's suits ready for the dry cleaners. One of the greatest changes in Leonard since moving to New Jersey was his wardrobe.

Gone were the hoodies and the layered t-shirts and sweater vests, replaced by expensive suits, silk ties and starched shirts. He said it was in keeping with his new position.

"_Penny, I'm sure you won't understand but image is everything now. If I'm going to fast track my career and gain tenure, I have to dress the part. It's not really that much money, Penn. We'll just tighten up the budget for a while."_

For a while? His suits cost between $500 and $800 _each _and his shirts and ties were another $400 – nearly his entire paycheck for the first month.

She was humming a song to herself as she checked his suit pants and coat for anything left behind when she found a hotel receipt for the Plaza in New York and ticket stubs for _Wicked_ that he'd promised to take her to '_when we can afford it, Penn_'.

She set the receipts aside and busied herself putting the dry cleaning in a bag she'd drop off later and started going through the morning mail that had been dropped through the mail slot in the front door of their Federal-style home.

Normally Leonard got the mail and put it on his desk in his 'study' where he'd go through it and pay whatever bills there were. He ran the family finances and she handled the household, '_a division of labor based on abilities_', Leonard had called it. She didn't like it but it worked and she almost always had money from her 'allowance' for things she needed.

The only clothes she'd bought were for Tuesdays and the monthly Faculty Wives Club luncheons. She wore her 'California clothes' and made due wearing what she had on 'normal' days.

There were bills, monthly bank statements, their cell phone bill and a credit card statement from a bank Penny didn't recognize in the mail and her curiosity got the better of her and she opened it.

* * *

The Arbor  
Princeton, New Jersey  
1:30PM

Penny was late but couldn't have cared less. The only reason she was even meeting Beverley for lunch was so she could fill her mother-in-law in on all the gory details of what she'd discovered.

She parked her Camry and strolled into the restaurant, waggling her fingers at the waitress manning the reservations desk who knew her by sight.

"Hi, Mrs. Hofstadter. Dr. Hofstadter is already into her second Harvey Wallbanger and is a bit impatient to order."

"I'll have an iced tea and bring her another 'banger and a snifter of brandy. She's gonna need it." Penny smiled and walked leisurely into the main 'salon' and spotted her mother-in-law in a beige business suit.

"Hello, Doc! Yeah, I'm late but it's Leonard's fault. So, I've ordered you another drink and a snifter of brandy. Your little boy has really screwed the pooch this time!"

Beverley looked up at Penny and smiled brightly. "At last! Hello, Penny. I was wondering how long it would be before the 'real' Penny showed up. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, my dear. Sheldon was right, you know? You _are _a gifted actress, albeit not yet 'discovered'."

They talked for an hour and Penny was surprised at how supportive Beverley was considering that Leonard was her son.

"He's his father's son in more ways than I can relate. Oh, look at the time. I suggest you go home, pack up his things and set them out in the driveway and then contact a locksmith and change the locks. On your way home, stop by the bank and remove Leonard's name from the accounts or, better still, simply close them and request cash."

Penny followed Beverley's instructions to the letter and Leonard had pounded on the door, whined explanations, entreaties and finally threats through the mail slot in the front door but Penny was resolved to end it between them.

Leonard was a document pack rat and she'd been able to trace credit card charges for hotels, motels, meals and shows for the past 7 months. The cell phone records were a goldmine. He'd been having an affair with Priya Koothrappali who was working for a firm in New York City.

She cried herself to sleep and when she woke up she hit the banks, cancelled credit cards and made an appointment with Beverley's divorce attorney.

She was going to go all Junior Rodeo on his ass.

* * *

She and Beverley talked frequently on the phone and, of course, met regularly on Tuesdays. They were becoming friends, something Penny was really in need of.

"You do know, Penny, that my son is enthralled with his 'Indian Princess' and probably will always be. That doesn't mean that he didn't love you, but just not enough to overcome his attraction to her."

Penny was quiet, trying to hold back her tears. She felt betrayed and said so.

"Yes, my son seems to have a knack for betraying those close to him. Sheldon and I talked about that on our last weekly chat session. The chats were a thinly disguised attempt at therapy really. I felt an obligation to that sweet boy after what Leonard had done to him during their ill-fated North Pole expedition."

"He forgave them all, Beverley. They were his friends and he forgave them. He always overlooked their slights and sarcasm for some reason."

"He harbors deep resentment that he hides with his OCD and schedules as he does so many other things. He was desperate to avoid further changes in his life and losing his relationship with his friends would have broken him as surely as your engagement to Leonard did."

"You talked about that with him? He never said anything to me or Leonard, just offered congratulations and…"

"And, Penny?" She already knew the answer but was curious to see if her daughter-in-law was astute enough to see it for herself. Her inability to answer her was proof enough.

Beverly decided not to mention Sheldon's 'involvement' in Argentina nor his decision to extend his sabbatical and join their winter expedition to Antarctica in his single-minded search for his elusive monopole.

He was no longer taking her Skype calls and her letters to him went unanswered, not that she blamed him. Beverly had dared to dig into his relationships and personal feelings and he had lectured her on the importance of privacy and then dismissed her from his life.

"Well, Penny, I think we should order lunch and another of these. I think I'll have the Dover Sole…"

There would be other opportunities to discuss Sheldon and his activities. There would be other Tuesday lunches with Penny. The question was, how many?

Next – Elusive prizes both lost & found


	4. Avoiding Foreign Entanglements

A/N: Okay so Valentine's Day deadline came and went but this fic continues.

* * *

Chapter 4  
Moving On – VD Challenge

Facultad de Ciencisa Exactas y Naturales  
University of Buenos Aires  
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sheldon Cooper sat in his office, hunched over his laptop, glaring at Dr. Beverly Hofstadter. The pair were conducting their weekly Friday evening Skype conference although each for a different reason.

Sheldon actually 'liked' Beverly and considered her one of his closest 'adult' friends and often wished she were younger because in many ways she was his optimal mate but obviously with the age difference such thoughts were frivolous and not worthy of consideration.

Beverly, on the other hand, felt a sense of responsibility for the damage wrought on Sheldon both personally and professionally by her son. She considered these weekly 'chats' to be an unusual but effective mode of therapy for the brilliant but oh, so eccentric genius.

"So, Sheldon, tell me more about your activities. Are you seeing anyone? And how are you handling the language nuances between 'Texican' and South American Spanish? Any more 'incidents'?"

She was referring to some cultural differences in idioms that caused Sheldon no end of consternation when he asked a woman police officer about where to catch a bus and was arrested for solicitation of a prostitute.

"I'm handling the language with no problems. I simply don't use slang in either dialect. As for 'seeing' someone, Beverly, I 'see' people every day as do you."

"Sheldon, you know perfectly well what I was alluding to. Really, Sheldon, you can't keep carrying a torch for a married woman! You need to put her out of your mind and move on. Genes such as yours are a great gift to mankind and should enrich the human gene pool, not – "

"Ahem! Beverly, my reproductive proclivities are not discussion items. I've tried my hand," and he glared when she smirked, "at coitus and I must say it is much ado about nothing." Now he smirked.

Sighing to herself, Beverly said "I hardly think that a single bout of coitus with Dr. Fowler, given your subconscious sabotage of it, hardly makes you able to rule out future partners or even lovers. Sheldon, you should not be alone. You have such great gifts and – "

Sheldon felt his face burn with both embarrassment and chagrin. He curtly bade Beverly a 'good evening, Dr. Hofstadter' and slammed down the lid of his laptop, severing the link with his one true remaining friend.

_'To hell with them all,'_ he thought. 'I like being alone with my thoughts. I can't think of another person worthy of sharing my thoughts with anyhow.'

He grabbed his briefcase, pulled on his raincoat and left his office at the university and walked through the light showers to a restaurant near the two-building northern campus. The university had its various schools in different locations throughout the city. With almost a quarter million students, the need to expand within the crowded city meant that there was no central campus, just satellite campuses such as this one.

He entered the small restaurant and quickly found his usual spot in the rear where he could work while waiting for his food. He always ordered the same thing and he'd waved to his usual waiter, confident that his order would be promptly placed in the kitchen.

There was a problem, however. A group of students, some of whom were in his theoretical lecture series, had set up shop and had pushed several tables together and were loudly debating some subject he had no interest in.

His waiter brought him his evening cocktail and scurried off in pursuit of tips, but not before giving Sheldon his usual greeting and assuring him that his order was now safely in the hands of a qualified chef with only the highest standard of culinary cleanliness. It had become a joke between them and since Sheldon was a 'big tipper', he made sure his food was properly prepared and presented.

Sheldon sipped his Suntori and water (no ice, ever) and opened his laptop and checked his email, deleting the few spam items that got through his filters, and reading the remaining emails from his students and fellow faculty members.

Sheldon looked up from his reading, annoyed at a particularly loud outburst of raucous laughter. He looked over at the table and frowned.

This was _**his**_ time to recall the day, mull over events that warranted mulling, read his email and enjoy his last meal of the day before catching a cab for his apartments. He was going to ask them to tone it down when his 'Voice of Reason' piped up in his subconscious.

_'Oh Moon Pie, don't be such a dick. They're having a good time and debating some arcane points of some lecture you gave. You should go over there and join them – after taking the stick out of your ass first!'_

The Voice sounded like Penny Hofstadter. It always spoke up when he was about to violate some social construct and he always listened to it, if only to hear her voice.

He sighed and nodded as if in agreement or acquiescence to his inner voice. _'You're right, of course but I prefer my own company.'_

He was re-reading an email from his Director of Curricula that once again requested that he give serious consideration to becoming a permanent faculty member of the School of Exact Sciences when he heard the phrase _'Científico loco'_ precede another burst of laughter.

'Mad Scientist' was what they called him now? Well, it certainly beat the poo out of 'Dr. Dumbass'. Sheldon glanced up to see if he could identify the speaker when he locked eyes with one of the students. Her gaze challenged him and his challenged back. There was just the hint of a smile on her face and he felt his own mirror hers.

She raised her glass of beer and saw her lips form 'Salud!' and he raised his Suntori and mouthed the same. Someone on her right touched her arm to get her attention and she turned and smiled and reentered the fray. People at the table were shifting around to make room for late arrivals and he lost sight of her.

_'Oh, Sheldon! Did you see those eyes, those lips and that smile? She was definitely coming on to you, sweetie!'_

He ignored the Voice and turned back to his email. His sabbatical was almost at an end and he'd been wrestling with the offer to change his status from 'Visiting Guest Lecturer' to something more permanent ever since it was first offered a month ago.

He really had nothing waiting for him in Pasadena. _'You mean no ONE, sweetie!'_ He loved Buenos Aires and enjoyed just walking around the city on his days off, taking in the sights and marveling at how open and friendly the people were.

Language posed no barrier (he spoke five, after all) and he had even made a few friends among the faculty at the school. True, they were mostly twice his age and nearing retirement but he enjoyed their company and they seemed to enjoy his, even inviting him into their homes for dinner or parties.

And they were constantly introducing him to young and attractive women.

Apparently the wives felt it their moral obligation to find him a girlfriend and as the time for his decision to stay drew closer, they seemed to redouble their efforts.

He found the whole thing rather tedious but tolerable. They seemed to have his best interests at heart, but his just wasn't in it.

His waiter brought his meal and another Suntori.

"I'm sorry, Jorge, but I didn't order another drink." He looked up at the smiling face of his waiter.

"No, Professor, but the young lady did. Enjoy your meal and thank you in advance for your generous tip." The 'generous tip' was his standard farewell and Sheldon always managed to look suitably outraged at the suggestion.

"May I join you, Professor Cooper?"

It was _her_, the girl with the eyes and hint of a smile now standing in front of him, gesturing at the empty chair across from him.

'_Don't just sit there, Moon Pie, stand up and gesture towards the chair and for God's sake, __**smile**__!'_

He stood unconsciously, remembering his manners, and as his Voice suggested, gestured towards the empty chair.

"Por supuesto, por favor hágalo," he answered in Spanish even though she'd spoken to him in English.

His waiter appeared as if by magic and pulled out the chair for her and then placed a linen napkin across her lap, grinning shamelessly at Sheldon.

"Your Spanish is quite good, Dr. Cooper." Her voice was soft and silky and seemed to seep into his ears.

He cleared his throat nervously. "As is your English, but you have me at a disadvantage. I don't know your name."

She laughed and again the sound seeped into his ears. He could listen to the sound forever. He gathered his wits about him and sat down, suddenly very uncertain of what to do next and running the rules about faculty/student 'relationships' through his mind.

"I am Juliana Quizas Parea. _Doctor_ Juliana Parea, but please call me Juliana or Jules or whatever you like. May I call you Sheldon?"

"Of course, or Shel or even 'Científico loco', if you prefer." He wasn't being snarky and he smiled when he said it so her blush was unexpected.

"When one theorizes that the Universe is made up of strings, one must live with the consequences, Sheldon. When I talk about my own theories that fly in the face of accepted convention, I too am given nicknames, but your students were being respectful and affectionate, Sheldon, whereas my detractors merely mock me."

He didn't know what to say so he followed his mother's advice and said nothing but the look on his face told her that she'd struck a nerve.

"Your students admire you and seem to hang on your very words. I wish I could reach fertile minds and plant the seeds of knowledge as easily as you can."

Now it was Sheldon's turn to blush and he stammered out something about how they simply were attentive because their marks depended on it.

"They would not be discussing your theories nor quoting from your lectures if it was simply a matter of grades, Sheldon Cooper." Her eyes seemed to flash in mock anger and he nodded, almost afraid to disagree with her.

_'Did you see those eyes flash? OMG Shel, she wants you!'_

The Voice really sounded like Penny when it gave that little girl squeal that so annoyed him. Still, she did cut an imposing figure and he could almost imagine her all decked out in Age of Conan regalia, preparing to lead her troops to battle. _He_ would certainly follow her.

"What theories do you postulate that fly in the face of convention, Jules?" He was curious about her specialty and prayed that it wasn't something like the hokum of the social sciences.

She liked the way he said her name and how easily it was to talk with him. He'd gained a reputation of being shy around people and a loner. She wondered if it wasn't just that he didn't care for socializing.

"I'm a paleobiologist and I believe that Antarctica was once a veritable Garden of Eden." She stared at him as if daring him to laugh.

"That must have been before Pangea broke apart and began drifting and becoming our current continents."

Their conversation became quite animated as Jules used her hands and then various lengths of _papas fritas_ from Sheldon's forgotten dinner to diagram her theory on the linen table cloth. Soon students began crowding around the table and offering their own interpretations and comments on Jules' theory and then on Sheldon's search for the elusive monopole which had been predicted to exist mathematically but never observed and replicated in a controlled setting.

"Well, soon I will be able to throw my discoveries in the face of my detractors as I hope someday you will be able to do to yours. Next month I leave for Antarctica to take core samples from below the ice."

One of his students then brought up Sheldon's own ill-fated expedition to the Magnetic North Pole and asked if such an endeavor might not be possible at the Magnetic South Pole.

"Oh, Sheldon, such an opportunity for you to find your elusive quasi-particle should not be ignored. We have two slots remaining on our roster and since your sabbatical is soon over, why not accompany me – I mean us – and perform your experiments there?"

_'Go for it, Moon Pie! Don't let her slip through your fingers. Just think about how long the nights are and how cold you'll be and how the opportunity to snuggle with her under a mound of blankets – "_

He mentally told the Voice to 'shut the hell up' and turned his attention back to the discussion.

"I'll have to get permission, of course, and submit an outline of experiments and then – "

"Good! It is settled then. Turn in your requests and I'm sure they'll be approved. Oh, Sheldon, we will have such a great time!"

* * *

Sheldon submitted his paperwork to the Director of Curricula and then set about planning his experiments. This was a last opportunity to prove the existence of the elusive monopole.

He and Juliana spent a lot of time together as friends, eating dinner and taking in the occasional movie or concert. They lived in the same faculty apartment complex and frequently 'dined in' in each other's tiny cluttered apartments.

His friends on the faculty, in particular their matchmaking wives, all took the budding relationship as a sign that Sheldon Cooper was staying in Argentina after first going to the South Pole.

* * *

"Sheldon, you can't resign from the University. You have a contract for one more year and besides, _Argentina?_ For God's sake, think about your career, your research – none of which will be viewed favorably from such a backwater university such as Buenos Aires."

Eric had serious concerns about the number of faculty who were either not renewing their contracts or retiring. Losing a potential Nobel Prize winner to another school was more than he could stomach.

"Be advised, Dr. Gabelhauser, that I'm exercising my option to forego the final year of my contract as outlined in Section C, subsection 7. I shall, of course, send you a letter of resignation. Thank you for your time."

Sheldon disconnected the call and leaned back in his chair, completely satisfied with the way the conversation had gone. He had nothing to go back to and he'd already moved all his personal belongings into storage. It wouldn't be all that much trouble to have them shipped to Buenos Aires.

He looked at his Batman chronometer and opened up his laptop and initiated a video call with Beverly Hofstadter on Skype.


	5. Mishaps, Miscommunication & More

A/N: Short but I wanted to get the players sorted out a bit more. Hope you'll comment if you feel up to it.

Reparata

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Moving On – Chapter 5  
The Arbor  
Princeton, New Jersey  
1:00pm

Dr. Beverly Hofstadter was just about to order her lunch when her daughter-in-law breezed in, smiling at the wait staff and waving to Beverly. Penny seemed to turn heads since filing for her divorce but Beverly chalked it up to a return to her bubbly personality and the loss of all that 'heartache fat' she'd put on.

"Hey, Bev, have you ordered yet?" She hung her purse over the back of her chair and seated herself, not waiting for the waiter. It was Tuesday afternoon.

"No, but I was just about to when you made your appearance. You seem unusually cheerful. I take it things with my son are progressing nicely and all according to plan?"

"Yes, Beverly, just as you figured, he's hunkered down figuring I'll eventually come to my senses. He's right, though. I have come to a few decisions about my life."

"I spoke with Sheldon last week – or rather we chatted and then I began asking questions that he would much rather I didn't and he severed the Skype call."

Penny's face blossomed into a smile but then lost it when she saw how upset her soon to be ex-mother-in-law appeared. She reached across the table and held her hand and leaned in.

"What happened this time? I thought you two had mended fences?" She wanted to know everything about her friend and his life in Argentina. Mostly she wanted to know when he was going back to Pasadena. So much of her plan depended on his schedules.

"He resigned from CalTech and has accepted a permanent position with the University in Buenos Aires, something I never thought he'd do but then again he constantly surprises me."

She saw the look on Penny's face and took the plunge.

"You should call him on Skype, Penny, and tell him about the divorce. He's your friend and I know you both have a lot of catching up to do."

"Not any more, Bev. I don't know Sheldon any more. Ever since the going away party for the Wolowitz's, things have been brittle between us. I don't blame him, really, I don't. We just drifted apart after I became engaged."

Penny paused and Beverly saw the pain on her face but waited, knowing as a therapist, silence frequently led to enlightenment.

Penny looked up and her eyes were tear-filled. "When he broke up with Amy I called him and bitched him out and he just listened and when I asked him how he could do something like that to someone who loved him – " she gulped down tears – "and he said "you did," and then he hung up. He didn't even come to my wedding…"

"Well, he's settled into things at the University and seems to have found someone who challenges him on a social and academic level. You know he's going to the South Pole to search for his Holy Grail – "

"The South Pole? Sheldon hates the cold. He'll freeze to death all alone down there without his friends." Consciously or unconsciously, she ignored Beverly's comments about the 'someone who challenged him'.

"Penny, I never said he was going alone, did I?"

"What do you mean, Beverly? Of course he'd have people with him, other members of the expedition, right?"

"I pushed him for information and he clammed up, deflected, changed the subject and finally just told me that his 'love life' was none of my 'damned business' and ended the call."

Beverly should have seen it coming but she'd been looking in the wrong direction so when Penny started quietly crying, she was caught flat-footed.

"Oh, dear, you have feelings for Sheldon and you're just finally admitting it, even to yourself. You never should have let Leonard pressure you into getting married, Penny. You should have told him the truth and then confronted Sheldon with the truth – you were in love with him."

"Not 'were', 'am', and now it's too late to do anything about it!"

Beverly took out a leather notepad and scribbled something on a piece of paper and handed it across the table to Penny. "Here. Call him. It's his Skype address. I don't know if it's too late and neither do you – and you won't unless you call him."

* * *

Dr. Juliana Parea's Apartment  
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Sheldon had set up his laptop and was using a dummy cord to connect to her computer and transfer some files about the expedition when she called from the kitchen.

"Shel? I need a strong man in here to open a jar. Know anyone you could recommend?" She was cooking dinner for the both of them and then they were going to an orientation about living and surviving in Antarctica.

She was struggling with a jar of some kind of sauce. "Here, you twist the top off while I hold the jar."

Sheldon twisted the lid and it came off easier than either of them had expected and Juliana struggled to maintain a grip on the twisting jar and somehow it tipped over, spilling sauce all down the front on both of them.

"Oh, Shel, I'm so sorry! She bent to retrieve the unbroken glass container and so did he and they bumped heads and he grabbed her around the upper arms to keep her from slipping since she was dazed by the cranial collision.

At 5'9", she was taller than any girl Sheldon had known, except for his sister who was nearly as tall as he was. She stared into his blue eyes and then looked at his lips and leaned up and kissed him.

He stiffened for a moment but then surprising even himself, he leaned into the kiss, putting his arms around her waist as she put one hand on his shoulder and the other around the nape of his neck, both ignoring the sauce trapped between them.

An eternity later, she straightened, still keeping her hands where they were. "I've wanted you to do that for so very long, Shel. I got tired of waiting."

In a soft voice she had to strain to hear, he said, "We have some kind of sauce layered between us and I don't have a change of clothes. Whatever shall we do?"

She toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck and said, "I suppose we'll have to take off these clothes."

His eyes widened, misinterpreting her words and he stammered something about social protocols and how he couldn't take a bus or cab back to his apartment looking like an appetizer.

She laughed and ran her thumb over is lower lip, wanting nothing more than to tease it and run her tongue across it but even though his pupils were dilated and his breathing uneven, Juliana knew that he wasn't ready for the intimacy she craved.

"I'll hurry and shower while you clean up this mess you made and then while you shower, I'll put your clothes in the washer. That sounds fair to me, no?"

"To you, perhaps, but to me? What am I to wear while my clothes are being washed and then tumble dried? I'm not wearing one of your pink frilly robes like Jack Lemon in 'Some Like It Hot', nor am I parading around in my underwear."

"I have a robe for you, silly. And it's a man's robe but you do not need to worry, Shel. He left it here a long time ago."

It was her ex-fiance's from when he visited a long time ago and he'd forgotten it. It had been ages since someone other than her had been in her shower. She liked the idea. And she liked the sudden look of jealousy that rippled across his face but quickly disappeared.

"That is acceptable, Jules." He still had his hands on her waist and she giggled and gently removed them. "I'll be quick and save you some hot water."

Juliana walked out of the bathroom wearing a bulky terrycloth robe that had been her mother's and dumped Sheldon's stained clothes into the washing machine and started it. She was surprised to see that Sheldon had, indeed, cleaned up the mess and from her vantage point, it appeared he'd even quickly mopped her kitchen floor. _'It's nice to have a man around the house who's not afraid to do women's work.'_

She was toweling her hair when Sheldon's Skype program came up and indicated an incoming video call. She sat down in front of his laptop and accepted the video call.

* * *

Hofstadter Residence  
Princeton, NJ

"Hello, Sheldon is in the shower and I'm sure he'll just be a few moments. I'm Jules – Dr. Juliana Parea, and you are?"

"I'm Penny Hofstadter and…I, ah, seem to have caught him at a bad moment. I'll just – "

Sheldon's voice was heard in background asking where she'd hidden his bathrobe and Jules laughed and smiled and said, "I hung it on a hook on the bathroom door. Isn't Observation a part of the Scientific Method?"

She turned back to Penny's image and stopped. There was such pain on her face for just an instant before she schooled her features.

"He'll be right out, Mrs. Hofstadter. Please hold on while I tell him you're waiting. We're leaving shortly for the Antarctic and I'm sure he'll want to tell you all about our preparations. Un momentito, por favor…" and she stood and left Penny's field of vision but not before Penny saw enough to know that the woman was quite naked under her robe.

She heard Sheldon's answer to the woman's comment about her waiting and when she asked who she was, he answered, "Just a friend who married my roommate, Leonard. I'll be brief and then we can get back to more important things."

He meant dinner and then their orientation but Penny fixated on 'just a friend' and acted out of sheer panic. _'Oh God, they're lovers!'_

She slammed the lid of her laptop shut, disconnecting the call.

'_Well, I guess I know now. I'm too late.' _ She hugged herself and got up to open a bottle of wine and rethink her plans. Going back to Pasadena wasn't going to do more than stir up old memories best left buried.

* * *

Sheldon saw that Penny had ended the Skype call or that something had interrupted the signal. He shrugged his shoulders and then went to dress.

It could be that important if she hadn't called back. He hoped that Leonard and Penny would be happy and that his own misgivings about the future of their marriage would prove groundless.

'_They do say that the third time's the charm. I do hope Leonard doesn't do anything to jeopardize his marriage. After all, he did get the girl after all.'_

He glanced at Jules and let a small smile break out. "I should dress and then I think we'll grab something light on our way to our orientation."

"No, Shel. I have something else in mind." She dropped her robe and took him by the hand and led him to her bedroom.


	6. Betrayals Small & Large

A/N: Things are going to be very confrontational this chapter. It's a cliffie but I've already completed the next several chapters so I won't be long in posting.

Reparata

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**A/N: Please note that these events take place more than two (2) months after those of previous chapters.**

* * *

Chapter 6

Princeton University  
School of Applied Sciences

Leonard was on the phone with his mother, wondering for the billionth time why she even bothered calling him and more so, why he couldn't just blow her off and let it go to voice mail.

"… you should have considered those consequences before being unfaithful to her with your little Indian Princess. How is Purim, by the way?"

"It's _Priya_! My God, mother, you have 2 PhDs and a bundle of publications and you still can't remember her name?" He was getting more and more angry with her. Hell, it was just a family dinner and even his father, divorced and finally happy with one of his many graduate students, was going to be there.

"I don't care what her name is, that woman is forbidden in my house. Penny will be there, _as she should,_ and I won't have her further hurt by you. Your father agrees with me, by the way, so an appeal to your philandering sperm donor will not have much of a reception."

"Why is Penny going to be there? She's divorcing me and she's hardly your favorite person anyhow. She's so 'inadequate' if I remember your quote."

"I've spent time with her. I like her. She's a breath of fresh air and what you never realized is that she is simply uneducated, not incapable of higher cognitive functions. She's a better person than you deserve, Leonard. Now, I'll see _you_ on Saturday - _alone_."

Leonard slammed down his office phone, cutting off his mother, not wanting to hear another word about his soon ex-wife. Instead, he took out his cell phone and hit speed dial.

"Hi, baby, it's me. I'll pick you up at the train station Friday night. Bring something dressy. My mother's having a dinner party and would love for you to come."

Priya laughed and said, "Really? Well, of course we should go. I'm anxious to meet the woman who made you the man you are, _Jaan._"

"Good. I'll see you Friday." He was too self-absorbed to recognize the double entendre of his paramour's statement.

* * *

Dr. Juliana Parea's Apartment  
Buenos Aires, Argentina

Jules was finally finished packing her personal gear. Something nagged at her and finally she went to her bureau and dug out something lacey and frilly.

'_If this doesn't get a rise out of him nothing will.'_

She'd been pleasantly surprised at Sheldon's naïveté regarding sex. She had a feeling that she'd been his first, but wisely didn't press the issue and was certainly glad she hadn't. He seemed to have a mental questionnaire and asked her the most entertaining questions.

Their first coupling hadn't been mind-blowing but given his propensity for perfection, that soon changed and Jules had no complaints whatsoever with Shel's subsequent performances and she had been the one left breathless on more than one occasion as he perfected this particular skill set.

Like most things, he approached sex as a problem to be solved, a riddle to be unraveled, and unravel her he had on several occasions.

It just wasn't the sex. It was that when they were together he focused on _her_, and that was so different from the other men who'd been in her life. While she hated 'comparisons', she couldn't avoid making them.

He surpassed anyone else she'd ever been involved with. His wry sense of humor delighted her once she learned to recognize it. Sheldon was attentive but not above clingy or smothering and at first that put her off but when she'd asked questions his answers had almost always opened up a new facet of his personality.

Quite frankly, she was head over heels in love with him.

Her cell phone rang with his unique ring tone that she'd never dared explain to him. She glanced at her watch. _'Almost to the second,' _she mused.

"Hello, Shel. Yes, I'm packed and ready. The van from the airport is a few minutes late but I'll see you after you clear Customs Control."

Sheldon was traveling on an American passport and as such, had to endure 'the ransacking' of his personal belongings by 'under-trained Neanderthals' since he was a foreign national.

* * *

Ministro Pistarini International Airport  
Buenos Aires

Sheldon kept glancing at his watch and then at the Customs Officer who seemed to take such delight in moving at the slowest speed possible. No matter how aggravated he looked, the man just smiled and moved like a tree sloth to his next item.

He held up an ice axe and glared at Sheldon. "This is not permitted, Professor, and must be left behind."

"Then I suppose the crampons and the climbing gear in the duffel bag is also 'not permitted'? How am I supposed to survive in the Antarctic without these items?"

"Oh, you're going on _that_ aircraft? Why didn't you say so? You have special dispensation, Professor. Allow me to help you pack – "

"No! That's quite unnecessary. I'm sure I'll be able to repack it just as it was." He hated it when people touched his things and even the thought of allowing the man to assist him in repacking made him uncomfortable.

He rushed to the proper concourse and then to the gate. Juliana and another scientist were waiting impatiently for his arrival. He hated being late. It made him feel incompetent even though he had no control over Customs.

"Where have you been, Sheldon? They're holding the plane for us!" She stopped when she saw the look on his face and then stepped over and hugged him. He looked so uneasy that she wondered if he were a 'difficult' flier.

"I'm sorry. The Customs agent insisted on questioning every item in my luggage. I believe he thought I was a terrorist!"

"I'm sorry. You should have told him you were on a private transport and about our expedition. We have – "

"Yes, 'special dispensation'. He finally listened to my explanation but the time was already lost."

"Well, you're here and that's all that's necessary for me. It will be cold on the plane. Know anyone who might offer to keep me warm?"

Sheldon stopped dead when he saw the aircraft that was taking them to the research station.

"We're flying on **_that_**?" he exclaimed and Juliana laughed at the look on his face.

"You were expecting a 747 and first class, my love?"

She grabbed his hand and led him up the cargo ramp into the Argentine Air Force cargo plane. Except for stowing his luggage and equipment that required both hands, his hand never left hers until they were airborne.

It was a long and cold flight and Sheldon dozed on and off, running his fingertips through her hair while she slept with her head in his lap, stretched out over the canvas seating. It was a long flight to the tip of the continent where they'd remain overnight while the aircraft was prepped for its flight to the research station.

* * *

Home of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter  
Princeton, NJ

Leonard and Priya arrived 'fashionably late' by design. Leonard knew that his mother would move heaven and earth to avoid a 'scene' at one of her social functions.

"Well, who have we here?" Beverly said, forcing a social smile on her face when she opened the door and saw her son and his whatever standing there.

"Mother, this is Priya Koothrappali. Priya, this is my mother, Beverly." His smarmy smile that shielded his gloating look fooled no one and it took ever ounce of her training not to slam the door and return to her _invited_ guests.

"Welcome to my home. Leonard, you should have told me you were bringing a guest! I'll have the maid set another place setting while you introduce Ms. Koothrappali to my guests."

Frost dripped off her words and she saw the surprise on the young Indian woman's face and felt a moment of pity for her. Obviously her son hadn't told her that Beverly refused to extend the invitation to his whatever.

Beverly turned on her heel and charged off to instruct the maid to set up another place setting as far from Penny as possible. She wanted more than anything to set up a small table out on the patio and seat them there but she felt herself above such things.

Only because it was raining.

* * *

Penny was to be seated beside Beverly and across from her ex-husband and his new bride, Jislane. She felt it would make conversation easier since Penny was only a few years older than the poor girl who had paled when introduced to Beverly, and nearly fainted when Beverly recounted how close to failing Jislane had been when she took her undergraduate classes from Beverly.

Her eight guests were all 'family' insofar as Beverly was concerned. The ninth was a mere interloper and would have to fend for herself amongst the sharks.

* * *

Penny was sipping at her drink, careful not to overindulge and do anything that might embarrass her friend, Beverly. Despite the circumstances and their difference in ages, they _had_ become friends and Penny cherished her new relationship.

Leonard's father's new wife, Jislane, was as terrified of Beverly as she'd once been and Penny could clearly relate to it.

"She was my professor for some undergraduate courses, Penny, and she scared the shit and knowledge right out of me. I couldn't talk in class, I couldn't remember my material; it was awful!"

Penny laughed and put her hand on the young woman's arm to create a tiny bubble of confidentiality. "Tell me about it. She scheduled 'Tuesday luncheons' and I always threw up before I left home!"

"But you two seem so close…" Jislane said, her voice trailing off.

"Well, Jis – no offense, but I was going through what she had with Leonard's dad except I caught his cheatin' ass way before I had three kids."

"He won't cheat on me, Penny. He promised me that I was all he ever wanted or needed in a woman."

Penny was going to say something consoling to Jislane since her thoughts were '_like father, like son' _but she caught sight of Leonard walking in to the large living room with Priya Koothrappali on his arm and that 'shit eating' grin on his face that he used to have when they were together.

The grin that told everyone who saw it _'Look what I've got!_'

Jislane saw Penny turn pale and then turn red with anger and she turned to see what had prompted such a reaction in her new friend.

"Who's _that?" _There was a certain tone of dislike that Penny picked up on and that made her smile.

"C'mon, Jislane. Let's go meet your philandering, cheating, lying, no-good stepson, The Hobbit. Feel like playing the evil Step-mom?"

Penny watched as a sly and evil grin grew on Jislane's face. "Oh, Penny, you have no idea just how evil I can be. That little shitass hit on me in the Kroger a few weeks ago. Lead on, almost ex-step-daughter-in-law. Paybacks are a motherfucker!"

Penny couldn't control the loud laughter that burst from her lips and she quickly took a sip of her drink to cover it. She and Jislane were going to be friends despite all the emotional crap they waded through.

Beverly had been schmoozing with her son and his 2nd wife but had been keeping an eye on Penny and 'the Child Bride' as she mentally referred to Jislane. She heard Penny's loud laughter and turned to see the source and almost laughed herself.

'_This should prove quite entertaining and a interesting topic for a monograph on social interactions in awkward social situations.'_

He knew that laugh. He loved that laugh, or used to, until the source began acting like his mother.

Priya was startled to hear a burst of familiar laughter. _'Not only wasn't I invited, but __**she**__ was. I wonder how Leonard is going to handle this and more importantly, how is he going to blame someone else for this.'_

* * *

85km from Permanent Station Belgrano II

The treaded snow cat was out of fuel and Sheldon checked the transponder once again before setting out on foot for the Argentine Permanent Station. He was warmly dressed and had sufficient food and heat tabs and an all-weather arctic survival tent in his pack. The transponder that showed him 'the way home' with its analogue pointer and flashing light that would alert him if he strayed more than 5 degrees off course for more than 100 meters was fully functional.

More importantly, he had computer discs full of data that he felt sure would prove the existence of the monopole and end his quest for the Nobel. He happily strapped on his crampons and hefted his ice ax and set out on his trek to Belgrano II and Juliana.

He had no idea that once again someone had sabotaged his efforts.

The transponder he was using was homed towards Sobral Meteorological Station, 60km away. The Sobral Station was only manned during the Antarctic _summer_ months.

He was walking to his doom because of another's jealousy over the love of a woman – Juliana Parea – Sheldon Cooper's future bride.


	7. How Much a Pound for Frozen Physicist?

_A/N: A bit shorter than normal but I'm back at work and time is rather scarce._

_Reparata_

* * *

Chapter 7  
Home of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter  
Princeton, NJ

"Follow my lead, Penny. And for God's sake, don't laugh!"

The two young women walked purposefully over to where Leonard and Priya stood. Leonard's face was still tinged in red while Priya looked anything but pleased. When she saw Penny approaching with another young girl she thought, _'Oh, Mother Kali, take me now!' _She glanced at Leonard and saw that the reddish caste was gone from his face, replaced by a deathly pallor.

Jislane stood in front of Leonard, well within his personal comfort zone, one delicate hand placed on his forearm, and smiled, waving her drink toward Priya.

"I waited for you in the parking lot, Sport, but I didn't see you come out of the Kroger." She reached over and smoothed down his lapel, leaving her hand flat on his chest.

"You should know that you don't hit on a woman in the Kroger and expect a positive response in such a public place, Sport. One must always be cognizant of prying eyes and waggling tongues."

"Do you know this _woman, _Leonard?" asked Priya with one sculpted eyebrow raised. The word 'woman' oozed from her full lips with disgust and disdain.

"Uh, well, I uh – "

Jislane looked Priya up and down like a madam in a whorehouse looking over new hookers and then fixed Leonard with a stare. "So this is the best you could do, Sport? I mean, come _on_, she's _old!_"

Leonard turned and began stammering out some lame explanation that he really didn't know the girl but Priya threw her drink in his face and stomped out of the living room to call a cab.

Leonard glared at Penny. "I don't know who this girl is but I'll bet you paid her to do that, didn't you? Damn it, Penny – "

Jislane stepped back beside Penny, and now it was her turn to glare.

"You don't remember coming on to me last week in the Kroger. You don't remember telling me how lonely you were and how you'd love to make me dinner at your place and – oh, yeah – just 'talk'?"

He knew who she was. She'd been wearing the tightest skinny jeans Leonard had ever seen on a woman and he'd been drawn to her a fly to honey. "Who the hell are you, anyway? What right do you have to be here at a family gathering – "

"Well, _son, _I'm your new step mom."

* * *

40km from Permanent Station Belgrano II  
44km from Sobral Meteorological Station

Sheldon was very pleased with himself. Anyone who knew the tall, lanky Theoretical Particle Physicist would know that from his smug smile and the way he strode purposefully onward, actually enjoying the solitude of the Antarctic desert.

He paused, suddenly unsure of the terrain he had to cross. He didn't remember the up-thrusts of ice that required a great deal more concentration lest he fall and break a limb.

'_Perhaps I avoided it in my initial leg to Station #1 and then circled a bit going from station to station until I reached Station #8. I'm sure that has to be it.'_

Sheldon checked his homing device and nodded to himself. _'Exactly on course although why I doubt myself is beyond my own reckoning. Despite my grueling pace, I'll have to find a suitable place to set up camp for the night.'_

Permanent Station Belgrano II  
Argentine Permanent Research Station

Juliana Parea sat up and rubbed her eyes. She'd been looking through a microscope at slides made up of samples of a core boring she'd harvested the previous day for hours. Her back was stiff from the position she'd maintained far beyond what was her usual but she ignored it, overwhelmed with the implications of her discovery and the vindication of her theory.

'Sheldon and I will have to have a special dinner in celebration and then we'll retire to my quarters and – '

"Dr. Parea, Dr. Cooper is overdue and several of us are mounting an effort to retrieve your _Americano_ genius before the weather closes us out. Would you like to accompany us?"

All thoughts of celebration and physical discomfort were forgotten. "Overdue? But he was just going out a few kilometers to check on his instruments and collect data from his computers. Of course, I'm going with you. He should have returned long ago."

"I'm sure it is nothing to worry about. His snowcat is equipped with a transponder and he's probably just wrapped up in his analysis of his collected data. Or perhaps his snowcat broke down and even now he's trudging towards us but with the weather front closing in, we must bring him in."

* * *

In another part of the station, a man sits in the mess hall looking at his watch and noting the weather watch that has been posted on the electronic bulletin boards throughout the station. High winds and whiteouts were expected within a few hours. All outside activities were cancelled due to the extremely dangerous weather.

'_Perfect! If they even find his body it will be months from now and no one will suspect foul play. We will be back in Buenos Aires and Juliana will be in need of comfort and who better to do so than a former lover who knows her so well?'_

Eduardo Duarte had assigned the American physicist his return transponder. It was hardly Duarte's fault that the American had ignored basic training and failed to verify the homing location or that his snowcat lacked sufficient fuel to make a round trip. He should have remembered his training and double-checked.

All this was the American's fault. He didn't back off when Eduardo had confronted him and told him _that 'Juliana and I are destined to be together and you, my American friend, should step aside and allow true love to follow its course. You're not the one for her. I am_. _W_e _were engaged to be married before a misunderstanding drove us apart._'

Not that he blamed Cooper for falling hopelessly in love with Juliana. Hadn't he done the same thing? Once back in familiar surroundings, he would show her that he had changed and was no longer the man she'd known. There would be no 'dalliances' this time. He had changed. Surely she would recognize it and take him back?

_'Too bad, Dr. Cooper, but rest assured that I shall take good care of her exactly as it was always intended.'_

He poured himself another cup of the strong coffee and returned to his own research notes.

'_Soon Cooper will be declared 'lost' and then I shall step in, as a dear friend at first, and offer her a shoulder to cry on.'_

* * *

Home of Dr. Beverly Hofstadter  
Princeton, NJ

Beverly looked over at the two young women who were laughing at her son's retreating back. Her ex-husband was standing beside her and said, "It's good that Jislane has found someone her own age to be friends with. I doubt we'll see Leonard again anytime soon, though. Surely he knew that Penny was going to be here, Beverly."

"I told him. I also told him not to bring his Indian Princess but of course he didn't listen. I imagine you're quite tickled with how your new wife handles herself? She certainly dominated the confrontation. Oh, well. Like father, like son. No doubt he's chasing Prius down, offering some fumbling explanation."

"I believe her name is Prium, my dear, not Prius."

"Prium, Prius, whatever. These foreigners have such odd names to begin with."

* * *

60km from Permanent Station Belgrano II  
24km from Sobral Meteorological Station

The wind had picked up noticeably and Sheldon was certainly glad he'd stopped when he did to set up his arctic survival tent. He was using heat tabs to boil snowmelt for tea over a small stove and gnawing on a high-energy ration bar that must have been made from cornflakes compressed under a million tons of pressure to make it hard as a diamond and as tasteless as wet cardboard.

He began stripping off his cold weather gear as the temperature in the tent climbed into the 30s and 40s. His training had stressed that it was important not to perspire while in the field since the dampness would leach heat from his body.

'Well, as much as I miss her company, I'm glad Juliana is safe and sound in her quarters. That Duarte fellow and his insinuations is becoming quite annoying, almost as bad as Leonard during breakups #1, #2 and #3. Imagine his nerve! Demanding that I step aside and allow him to rekindle his affair with Juliana! As if I didn't learn my lesson with Leonard and Penny. I shall stand aside for no man – certainly not one with a PhD in [shudder] Geology!'

* * *

24km from Permanent Station Belgrano II

The treaded snow cat was out of fuel and there was no sign of Sheldon. His survival gear and his precious computer were gone also and one of the men had found a panel marking the direction he had traveled when he left.

"Why would Dr. Cooper not follow his transponder? Why is he heading deeper into the interior, Juliana?" When Duarte had heard that Cooper was overdue, he immediately volunteered to go out and recover him. Although they had parted on bitter terms, she was very grateful for her ex-fiance's assistance.

"I have no idea, Eduardo. Why is his 'cat out of fuel? Isn't it your responsibility to assign snowcats and to ensure that proper maintenance has been done prior to signing it out?" She was very worried and took her worry out on the nearest target, her former boyfriend.

Duarte just stared at the horizon as if feeling guilty and Juliana immediately felt bad for blaming him for something like a maintenance failure or improper record keeping.

"I'm sorry, Eduardo. That was insensitive of me. Of course you would have checked. It must be a leak or something. I'm just so worried about Sheldon. He's out there, all alone, perhaps injured and freezing to death and – "

"Calm yourself, Jules…we'll find him." _'Damn it! Why did he have to remember his training and put out that damned directional panel? Well, the weather is closing in and we'll have to return to Belgrano or risk more lives. The needs of the many…'_

* * *

_Uh ohhhh_


	8. It's Not Easy Being Dead

A/N: This fic is ending shortly but not before everyone gets who and what they so richly deserve. Bwahaha.

Reparata

* * *

Chapter 8 Moving On

Permanent Station Belgrano II  
Argentine Antarctic Research Project

The White Out lasted 6 days but even the most optimistic assessment of the likelihood of Dr. Cooper surviving in such weather conditions could not justify further rescue parties.

Dr. Sheldon Cooper had most probably succumbed to the elements and that any further attempt to rescue him should be considered a 'recovery of remains' effort.

Exactly as anticipated, Juliana collapsed emotionally and, exactly as planned, Eduardo Duarte was there to offer her his shoulder and his support. Juliana Parea requested compassionate relief from her assignment and a sympathetic government sent a plane to return her to Argentina. Her research project had been successful and there was little need to further expend precious money supporting her in the Antarctic when the purpose of her participation had been met.

Eduardo Duarte remained behind. His request to be relieved and accompany Dr. Parea was denied since his experiments were far from complete and his progress reports were totally unsatisfactory. The bureaucratic apparatus had little sympathy for a non-performer who had expended funds without result. His protests were curtly answered with 'achieve results or find another University to fund your research'.

Of course in his own mind Duarte blamed Sheldon Cooper since it was he who had forced Duarte to expend so much time and effort eliminating the American that he fell behind on his own research project.

* * *

Sobral Meteorological Station  
84km from Permanent Station Belgrano II

At last! The generator turned over and finally caught and the roar of the diesel engine was the sweetest sound he'd ever heard. He sent a heartfelt mental 'thank you' to Howard Wolowitz for insisting that everyone know how the North Pole Station's generator worked. Howard's insistence had saved Sheldon's life at the other end of the planet years later. The generators were exactly the same make and model.

He'd practically jogged from his camp site to what he thought was the Permanent Research Station and had fallen to his knees in dismay when he'd rounded the huge chunk of ice that thrust up through the ice field and saw the small station almost covered in blown snow and ice. It was clearly the closed Sobral Meteorological Station.

Tears froze on his cheeks when he realized that he was a dead man as a result of an accidental transponder malfunction.

It was _her _voice that saved him from giving up, from surrendering to his fate, from freezing to death out there on the ice.

'_Get up! Get up! Get on your feet, Moon Pie! Are you going to let this small problem kill you? Jesus, Sheldon, what kind of wimp are you?'_

He got mad. 'Shut up!' he told the Voice. 'Leave me alone for God's sake! It's over, damn you, it's over. I've failed.'

All along his long walk it had been Juliana's voice he'd listened to as he used his unique memory to replay bits and pieces of the past months. His long strides had eaten up the kilometers as he replayed entire days of being with her on holiday or just spending quiet times together. In his mind, she'd been his driving force, the reason he had to make it. But now…

'_See, Moon Pie, I told ya you could do it! You can do anything you set your beautiful mind to doing. You just have to have a little faith in yourself. I do and aren't I always right, Shel?'_

'Yes, Penny, I did it.' He had been having long conversations with Penny, rehashing the past and coming to grips with his emotional inability to take the step necessary to claim her for his own while it was still possible. Maybe it was the isolation of the summer station or the stress and pressure of his situation but he spoke with her out loud as if she were standing beside him.

'I should have told Leonard 'No' when he said he saw you first. I shouldn't have stepped aside. It was me you talked with, my white boards you oohed and awed over, and it was my 'science-y stuff' you tried to learn. I listened to Leonard and his 'Bro Code' prattlings. Looking back, it was just Leonard looking out for Leonard, nothing more.'

'_It's about damned time you figured it out. I couldn't wait forever, sweetie, and I took second best and I knew it but wouldn't face up to it.'_

In more rational moments Sheldon wondered if he were finally going insane just as the doctors that his mother had examine and test him had suggested might happen.

'_Oh, sweetie, you're not nuts. You're just coming to grips with how things might have been if either of us had just said, 'I choose you' and told Leonard to 'fuck off, hobbit'. Nothing more, Moon Pie, so don't fret yourself raw about it. Remember, your mom had you tested.'_

* * *

Permanent Station Belgrano II

Duarte listened as the Chief of Research Station spoke over the short wave radio to his boss in Buenos Aires. He tried his best to look appropriately dour and sad but inside he was doing a happy dance.

"Yes, Doctor Cooper became disoriented or suffered an equipment malfunction and set off for Sobral Station unaware of the sudden weather conditions that quickly hit us. I have no doubt that he lost his way out in the White Out on the ice and succumbed to the elements when his meager supplies ran out. All our attempts at recovering his body have been suspended. We simply do not have the surplus of fuel to continue searching."

"And his research? Were you able to recover his equipment and read the data?" Ever practical, his boss was looking to salvage something out of this debacle and giving Cooper credit for discovering his missing Monopole would go a long way towards improving the University's image in the international community.

"We found his recording computers at all eight stations but the data discs were missing. Apparently he collected them before discovering that his snowcat was out of fuel and setting off on foot to return."

"Very well. We will inform the authorities and notify his last posting so that any public announcement can be made jointly with CalTech. It's such a pity that the world has lost such a great genius with such unlimited potential for discovery. Hmm, I'll include that in my statement. That is all."

* * *

CalTechPasadena, CA

Eric Gabelhauser read the email over and over, hoping it was a joke or a mistake but there it was: Dr. Sheldon Cooper has been lost in the Antarctic while performing research out on the ice. A sudden change in the weather and ensuing high winds precluded any further attempts at recovering his remains. The email went on and on about joint announcements, the loss of a great mind, yada yada yada.

He forwarded the email to his boss, the University president, and quickly got a phone call in response.

"Is it true? Cooper is lost and his body unrecoverable? How could something like this have happened? He was so meticulous in his preparations and you know he would have had several layers of backups in the event of such an occurrence. I can't believe it, Eric, can you?"

Leslie Winkle was in the faculty cafeteria when a tearful Rajesh Koothrappali burst into tears after reading something on his laptop.

"He's dead, Leslie! Sheldon is dead in Antarctica and they have little hope of recovering his body! Oh, Shiva, why did this happen? He would never have – he couldn't ever be – damn his fucking quest for the Nobel! Now I've lost my best friend, frozen like a Coopersicle somewhere all alone on the ice…oh, poor Juliana. I must Skype her and find out what she knows!"

Leslie heard every word but continued taking bites from her BLT until her mouth could hold no more and she started to choke on her tears. Finally she spit the mess out on her plate and grabbed Raj and dragged him out of the cafeteria and to her office where she tore off all their clothes and grieved in her own way.

* * *

Princeton University  
School of Applied Sciences

He read the email many, many times before it finally sunk in. His friend and roommate for many years was dead. He couldn't accept it. There was no way that Sheldon 'Always Ready for the Apocalypse' Cooper could die from something so ordinary as an equipment failure.

Although he hadn't spoken with her since the dinner party, he felt an obligation to let her know. After all, she and Sheldon had been strange friends over the years.

"Hi, Mother, it's Leonard. He's dead, Mom. Sheldon's dead in Antarctica and they can't even find his body."

It was a strained conversation for both of them. Leonard was uncharacteristically remote and detached while Beverly felt an almost overwhelming need to give her youngest offspring a hug and offer him something she'd never done before – tell him that she loved him.

"You gotta tell Penny, Mother. I just can't do it."

"Of course. It should be me. After all, I've come to know them both quite well and it is Tuesday and we are meeting for lunch. I'll call Jislane and ask her to accompany me. She can deal with Penny's emotional outbursts of grief far better than I'll be able to. Yes, consider it done. Thank you for your call, son."

She hung up and found her ex-husband's telephone number in her address book.

She started to dial Jislane's cell phone number but stopped, unable to see the keys through her tears.

* * *

Sobral Meteorological Station  
Two weeks after his 'death'

He was talking to himself more, probably an unconscious act just to hear something other than the wind and the whine of the machinery that was keeping him alive.

"No matter how you slice it, I'll run out of food and fuel oil well before the 'summer' comes and then it'll be over. I have more than enough food for a run to Belgrano II but I'm uncertain whether any of the homing devices have been set to anyplace other than 'here'."

'_Shel, honey, have you thought about what we talked about?'_

"Penny, Penny, Penny, or should I say 'subconscious, subconscious, subconscious'? I've done little else but consider the situation from your viewpoint and while I do find it possible, I cannot say probable. Who would do such a thing?"

'_Okay, let's look at this like one of those detective programs you don't like to watch. Who has motive and opportunity to mess with your snowcat and your transponder? Who benefits if you're dead?'_

"Penny, the only ones who benefit from my demise are my mother and sister. I'm heavily insured and they are my beneficiaries. I didn't see either of the skulking around so I feel correct in stating that they are not suspects."

'_Okay, so we can rule out money as a motive. Why else bump you off? Who benefits? Who at Belgrano II would like to see you frozen like a piece of meat in a freezer? Who gains from your death? Is anyone else there pursuing String Theory?'_

That got his attention. Who else might be pursuing String Theory and possibly using his research findings to make their own great leap forward? No one. He was the only physicist on the expedition. The others were all 'dirt scientists'.

"None that I can think of. I am the only physicist in residence and thus my research would be useless to the average dirt scientist. I think we're wasting time. It was mere coincidence, a coming together of unrelated events that combined to create my situation, nothing more."

'_I thought you once said that there are no coincidences in science?'_

* * *

The Arbor  
Princeton, New Jersey  
1:00pm

Penny looked around the large dining room but didn't see Beverly Hofstadter anywhere and knowing how anal her mother-in-law was about punctuality (_almost as bad as my Moon Pie_) she felt a little bit worried.

"Mrs. Hofstadter, Doctor Hofstadter and Mrs. Hofstadter are in the private salon at her request." Penny blinked. _'Too many damned 'Hofstadters' in that sentence.'_

Penny was led to the private salon and the waiter seated her and took her drink order. Beverly looked pale and drawn and Jislane looked like she was going to either bolt from the room or start to cry.

"Who died?" she snarked, to break the tension at the table.

"Sheldon Cooper, Penny. He failed to return to the research station after checking his monitoring stations and the weather turned bad and despite many attempts to rescue him – they were unable to find his body and he's been declared 'lost, presumed dead'."

The words rushed out of Beverly's mouth and she picked up her drink and drained it in one large gulp and beckoned the waiter, hovering discretely near the door, for another round.

"I'm sorry, dear, but he's gone. I know he was your very dear friend and despite all that happened, I know he still cared deeply for you."

Penny couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. There was no air in the room and the walls were closing in on her and she screamed for the only person who could save her.

"_**Sheldon!"**_


	9. Dead Man Walking

A/N: I promised everyone a happy ending.

Reparata

* * *

Chapter 9 Moving On

* * *

The Arbor  
Princeton, NJ

Penny pulled the oxygen mask off her face and wiped her runny nose on the sleeve of her dress. The EMTs had been called and had Penny on an IV drip of something and oxygen. She was lying on the thick carpeting and staring up into the concerned faces of Beverly, Jislane and the waiter.

"Ma'am, you need to keep the mask on. You were unconscious and unresponsive to stimuli and we'll just keep things in place until your stats are all in the green. Can you tell me what happened?"

"He's not dead. I would know it if he were. There'd be a disturbance in the Force if such a great mind were extinguished. He's alive and none of you seem to give a shit!"

Beverly looked at the EMT and said, "She's overwrought. She just received news that a dear friend was lost on an Antarctic expedition and she's been under a lot of strain lately – "

"Bullshit! I was fine until you – until – he's not dead! I'd know it. I'll prove it. Get this crap off me and let me up."

The EMT looked at her partner and nodded. The young woman's heart was racing and her BP was nearing a danger zone and it was SOP to inject a sedative to prevent stroke or damage to the heart.

"No! Don't you daaaarrrrrree…" Penny said as the drug took hold. The EMT glanced at the older Hofstadter woman who seemed to be evaluating everything.

"Dr. Hofstadter, it's standard procedure to – "

"I know. I helped write the protocols. I don't recommend hospitalizing her unless her stats continue fluctuating. She's just in emotional turmoil and denial. Perhaps keeping her in the ER for a while might be best but she'll be better off surrounded by people who care for her. I'll take responsibility for her."

"No, Beverly. She'll be better off in her own home. We can stay with her for a bit. I'll call my husband and tell him I'm spending the night with Penny and why."

Over the next few days Jislane and Beverly took turns staying with Penny. She was despondent one minute and calm the next. Her 'little white pills' were her salvation. That, and her undying belief that Sheldon Cooper was alive.

Penny seemed better and was on the phone one afternoon when Jislane walked into the kitchen to get a refill on her coffee. She almost dropped her cup when she heard Penny say, 'That's what I said to the other ticket agent. One-way to the South Pole'.

Beverly Hofstadter appeared in Penny's kitchen 15 minutes later after getting a frantic call from Jislane.

Penny was still on the phone arguing with yet another poor soul about getting a plane ticket to the South Pole. Beverly took the phone from her hand and spoke into it, thanking the woman for her patience and hanging up.

"Penny – "

"Don't. Don't say he's dead. He's not and I'm going down there and find him if I have to rent a plane and fly down there."

"I was simply going to say that there are no commercial flights to the South Pole. You have to fly to Argentina and then convince bureaucrats that you're not crazy and have clear evidence that despite the facts, Sheldon Lee Cooper is alive somewhere in the –60F temperatures after exhausting his food and fuel some weeks ago. It should be simple, Penny. Let's sit down and write up a plan…"

Reluctantly, Penny agreed to grief counseling with one of Beverly's colleagues. "You're not thinking straight, Penny. Sheldon is gone. You need to accept the facts. This will help you come to grips with your grief."

She seemed fine for a few days, even going to lunch with Beverly and Jislane and a catching a movie that evening.

She disappeared two days later without leaving a note.

* * *

Sobral Meteorological Station  
38 days after his 'death'

'_Baby, this is crazy. You can't just hold the damned transponder backwards and 'walk away' from it and hope to hit Belgrano II. You'll die out there on the ice and no one will know anything about the sabotage.'_

"If you had been paying attention at all, you'd know that I left a detailed evaluation of my suspicions on paper for the Summer Expedition to find and act upon. I also left them an I.O.U. for the cost of the food and heating fuel. My mother always said that a guest should be meticulous in returning a guest room to a better state than when one arrived so I cleaned it using those pitiful supplies they left behind."

'_I still say you should have tried to fix the radio, Sheldon. You're a frikkin' genius and you just looked at it and pronounced it 'deader than a doornail?'_

"The power supply was missing and the maintenance schedule showed that a new one would be included with the Summer Expedition's equipment. Even I, genius extraordinaire, cannot cobble together a substitute out of what's available here."

'_Sheldon, pleeeease don't do this.'_

"Jules must be beside herself with worry and I can't have that, can I? No, my mind is made up. We're leaving in the morning. It should only take 4 days providing the weather doesn't turn nasty and I'm taking supplies for twice that long. "

'_WE? What's with this 'WE' shit, Moon Pie? You've lost your frikkin' mind and I'll just stay here with it, okay?'_

That was their last conversation.

* * *

Mount Ivy Church  
Outside Galveston, TX  
43 days after his 'death'

Howard, Bernadette, Leslie Winkle and Rajesh Koothrappali met at Sheldon's mother's church for a memorial service. Leonard was unable (or unwilling) to attend and Penny had disappeared and not even her parents knew where she was.

The religious portion of the service was brief with a simple prayer and then a series of eulogies given by his mother, his sister and surprisingly enough, Raj.

His was simple and heartfelt.

"Sheldon Cooper was a pain in the butt. He was demanding, arrogant, unyielding and insufferable but he was also the kindest man I've ever known. He got me a job when my grant expired and I was facing deportation. He _created_ it just so I could stay in the U.S. He loaned money to people and never expected to be repaid. He loved us all in his own unique way and he was my best friend and I shall miss him until the day I die."

Missy drove them to the airport and hugged Raj the longest. "Y'all come back here anytime, Raj. I know Shelly was hard to deal with what with his germaphobia and his OCD but he was my brother and your words helped us all remember how good he was underneath all that armor plated crap of his."

Raj just nodded, unable to overcome his speech problem. Odd though. He had no problems at all delivering his eulogy. Sheldon would have been tickled by the irony.

* * *

Geology Team #2  
Equipment Recovery  
Argentine Antarctic Research

They were a man short since Duarte had a bad stomach and so pulling up the auger was a Hurculean task with just the three of them. They were struggling to free it from the borehole when someone grabbed hold and they all pulled and it came free.

"Good job! May I trouble you for a ride into Belgrano when you've finished up here?"

* * *

Permanent Station Belgrano II

The radio operator woke the Chief of Research and told him that Geology Team #2 had reported that they were returning to Belgrano ahead of schedule and that a great discovery had been made. They would be arriving in less than 30 minutes.

They requested that the Chief of Research have everyone assemble in the mess hall and join them in their celebration. It was a highly unusual request but then again, a 'great discovery' wasn't made every day so he agreed and passed the word throughout the station.

Eduardo Duarte was angrier than usual. He should have been on the team that made the 'great discovery'. It was a flare up of a recurring ulcer that kept him from going out with the team. He popped another antacid tablet and waited in his room for news of 'the great discovery'. He was too ill to attend.

Time passed and suddenly there was a great cheer from the mess hall and soon there was the sound of celebration and music and more cheering.

Unable to contain his curiosity, Duarte made his way unsteadily to the mess hall. What he saw made his bowels loosen and he staggered to the lavatory where he threw up blood and tried to clean himself up before someone saw him.

'_God damn you, Cooper! What will it take to kill you?'_

* * *

Dr. Juliana Parea's Apartment  
Buenos Aires, Argentina  
8pm local time

Days were easy. She lost herself in her work and her teaching. The days seemed to fly by as long as she avoided other faculty.

Evenings were hard but the nights – the nights were long and dark and she cried herself to sleep most nights.

Tonight would be different.

Juliana cleaned her apartment, did a load of laundry and ironed what needed to be ironed and folded the remainder and put it away. Her apartment was spotless. Everything was carefully put away and her 'treasures' were carefully labeled for distribution to loved ones.

She left a note on the dining room table for the general public and another for her parents, begging them for their understanding and forgiveness and their prayers.

She carefully counted out the pills and placed the others back in the small bottle and replaced the bottle in her medicine cabinet. She poured herself a glass of wine that they'd both come to enjoy, her perhaps a little too much at times, and used it to wash down the pills.

Juliana lay down in bed, took the framed photograph of her and her beloved and put it on her chest and crossed her arms over it, together once more, if only in her mind and heart.

"I love you, Sheldon." She closed her eyes and thought about all that might have been, of children and family and old age and -

There was a knock at her door. A quick staccato and then a pause followed by a louder knocking. Then banging.

'_Damn it! Can't I die in peace?' _She rolled off the bed onto her feet, momentarily unsteady, and placed their picture on the bed and whispered, "I'll be right back, my love," and walked out into the living room to answer the door.

It was a University security officer and he looked relieved when she answered the door.

"Dr. Parea, we have been trying to reach you all evening. There is an urgent need for you at the University Chancellor's office. Your presence is required and I am here to…Dr. Parea? Are you ill?"

"No, but I need to…I need to…" and her eyes rolled back into her head and she collapsed into the officer's arms.

* * *

Princeton University  
School of Applied Sciences

Leonard walked up the 4 flights of stairs to his office, dreading the afternoon when he had office hours but no students scheduled. It gave him too much time to think about the mess he'd made of his life, all the mistakes he'd made and how foolish he'd been to ever think that someone as special as his ex-wife would put up with his shenanigans as long as his mother had his father's.

He hated to admit it to himself but Priya had bored him. After the infatuation wore off, he found her to be shallow and self-centered, craving new things in life and new men. What he thought was a new beginning was just a rerun of previous episodes of Leonard Wants Priya But Loves Penny.

Okay, so he was a dick. He knew that, _now_. He learned the hard way that _having_ wasn't nearly as good as _wanting_ and he'd had the best thing in his life and had literally thrown her away.

His dad had introduced him to a therapist and cautioned his son that 'this woman takes no shit, no prisoners and no excuses, Leonard, but you'll be a better man after going through even just a few sessions. I know I am. Don't make the same mistakes over and over like I did. Break the cycle and be happy."

He tried. He went to therapy sessions twice a week and even sat in on a group but it was Penny's abrupt disappearance that made all the difference. He was worried, panicky even, about where she was, if she was okay, if she was alone…the last thought had shaken him. What if…what if she wasn't alone?

Sheldon's death had shaken him but it had really affected Penny more than anyone. His mother had told him exactly what had happened and he felt a surge of bitterness but recognized it for what it was – petty jealousy. She'd called out for Sheldon not him. Any why shouldn't she? Sheldon hadn't betrayed her. Sheldon hadn't cheated on her. Sheldon had been a true friend even when it killed him to do so.

Sheldon was the better man for Penny but now…now it was too late.

* * *

Omaha, NE

Penny Ford Hofstadter had finally been broken by life. The first blow was the discovery of Leonard and Priya. The second was her admission that she had repressed feelings for the whackadoodle physicist and then the mortal blow: Sheldon's death on the ice. It had all proven to be too much for her and she cracked open like an egg. Unable to do anything to change the past, she was determined to change the future but needed a safe haven to do so.

She went home to Omaha and her childhood home and told her mother everything that had happened since she left with Kurt for the bright lights and limitless opportunities of Hollywood.

Everything.

She made her parents swear to keep her location secret. She needed time to put herself back together and decide on what to do with the rest of her life.

Her parents might be uneducated farm people but they had good hearts and could see that their youngest was hurting and needed someone to shepherd her through her bitter unhappiness. Jenny, her mother, talked with people at church and got the name of a 'grief counselor' and arranged to have Penny meet with her at their home.

It had been a fiery first encounter. Penny felt betrayed yet again by people who were supposed to love her and care for and about her. She lashed out at everyone and finally just dropped onto the couch and sobbed.

"I've seen this before. You two go make some coffee or something, maybe take a walk and let me talk with her. This," she gestured towards the sobbing blonde, "is not at all unusual. In fact it's a healthy reaction to dealing with so much crap hitting her at one time. Go. I've got this."

Penny met with Helen, the counselor, daily for nearly a month. Each daily session, some tear-filled while others were punctuated with soft laughter, helped and it was just a process of reconciliation, as Helen told her. "Penny, you've been through a series of tremendous personal and emotional changes. Marriage, relocation away from friends and family, a cheating husband, a divorce, and finally the death of someone you may have harbored feelings for but never admitted."

The daily sessions devolved into chats between friends as each shared a little more of themselves with the other until finally Helen asked Penny the question that she'd been trying to answer for herself.

And that's how she came to find herself where she was, sitting in a hard wooden chair in a dark hallway just waiting.

* * *

Leonard saw her sitting there, the most beautiful and frightening thing he'd ever seen. What he said next would determine so many things and so he asked the same question the counselor had asked her in Nebraska:

"What do you want, Penny?"

His voice was an octave higher than normal but he didn't care about how he sounded. When he saw Penny's red and puffy eyes his heart stopped and started up again at her reply.

"I want to start over."

* * *

Ministro Pistarini International Airport  
Buenos Aires

He hadn't shaved since he'd left Belgrano II nearly 60 days earlier on his ill-fated data collection foray and he looked like a wild man from the shoulders up. His face was deeply tanned by the arctic wind and sun and his blue eyes seemed to swirl with electricity as he made his way down the concourse to where the crowd of people were standing to greet loved ones and acquaintances.

The flight from the Antarctic Research Station had been delayed a few days due to weather and then he'd had to submit himself to being poked and prodded by government doctors before he could be released to make his way home to Buenos Aires on a commercial flight.

He'd spoken with Jules over the radio as soon as she was able to make her way to the University's radio room. He'd learned of her accidental overdose from the Chancellor himself who'd made the admission only after assuring Sheldon that 'Dr. Parea was under a great deal of strain, my friend, and obviously she lost track of her dosage of prescribed sleep aids but she is under a doctor's care and is overjoyed at having her own Lazarus back from the dead, as are we all."

Sheldon didn't travel well and anticipation at seeing Jules simply made the entire episode seem endless and he was impatient – hardly descriptive but an apt descriptor – to hold her in his arms and ensure that she was healthy and still loved him.

Juliana saw him first since he was so tall. He was striding towards her but he wouldn't get there soon enough for her. She pushed past a security guard and rushed to him, throwing herself into his arms and breaking down in tears.

The tearful reunion was captured by paparazzi who had been tipped off (no doubt by the University's Press Office) to the arrival of the new Lazarus, back from the frozen wastes of Antarctica.

She buried her face in his neck and wept, apologizing for her lack of faith in him.

"I should have known, Shel, that you weren't dead. I should have known that nothing could stop you. I should have known – "

Sheldon pushed her away and held her at arms' length, a stern look on his face unlike any she'd seen. _'Oh, no. He's disgusted with me. He – '_

"No wife of mine will ever require the aid of chemicals to sleep so long as I can hold her in my arms and assure her that all is right with the world, Juliana Parea. So, I believe it makes perfect sense to forego this stupid ritual of a long engagement and marry as soon as possible."

"YES! As soon as the banns are posted and my family can meet you and…and there is so much to do, mi amor…"

"We will sit down together and draft a plan and then when it is done, take some time and meet your family and mine. I'm sure all this has taken quite a toll on my mother and sister. I was unable to reach them from the Research Station…"

Whatever else he had to say was lost in a kiss much to the delight of the photographers.

He put his arm around her and picked up his backpack and walked to the exit.

"What's in the backpack, Shel?"

"It's my urban survival pack, Jules. One never knows when the Apocalypse might rush upon us and we must be prepared…"

* * *

A/N: Another chapter and then an epilogue follow. I promised EVERYONE a happy ending. Well, you Shamies lose, but who really cares? You may have Shamie on TV but we rule the FF world.


	10. All Good Things

A/N: An epilogue follows and ties up loose ends.

Reparat

* * *

Chapter 10 Moving On

Juliana's father, Enrico, was, to say the least, underwhelmed with his daughter's choice for a husband. The Parea family had been social and political allies with the Duarte family for generations and so he found Sheldon, by comparison, a mere shadow of the man Eduardo Duarte.

And he was not particular about to whom he voiced his opinion, much to Juliana's anger and Sheldon's amusement.

"How can you laugh when he says such things about you? Have you no balls, Sheldon? No honor?"

"Jules, Eduardo Duarte is the man who set me up to fail and probably die on the ice. He certified that the homing device and the snowcat had been calibrated and fueled. He did so in writing. No doubt his family connections will save him from time in prison for attempted murder but nothing will save him from the public humiliation of being publically drummed out of the scientific community and the University."

"But – but Eduardo is a good man, a true – "

"If you think so highly of him, you should have remained engaged. Just why did you break it off, Juliana Parea?"

She knew she'd crossed some line with Sheldon that she didn't even know existed. She ended it with Duarte because he couldn't keep his pecker in his pants, and because he'd managed to pass on a by-product of his philandering to her in the form of Chlamydia.

In a whispered voice, she said, "He gave me an STD, Sheldon, and it took that to make me see him for the man he really was."

For just an instant, Sheldon felt disgusted and unclean. He knew that Jules had been intimate before he came along but to have it paraded in front of him in such a manner made him ill. He wondered if Penny ever – no, no thoughts of her. He left her out on the ice.

He wrapped his arms around her and whispered that it didn't matter since she was with him and he could guarantee he would never stray. He'd given her is word and so far as he was concerned, 'forsaking all others' was ironclad.

They thought they'd been alone on the large verandah but they'd been under observation by Juliana's mother – who did not share her husband's loathing of her daughter's future husband. Armed with facts about Duarte, she stormed through the house in search of her husband. She found him in the stables, preparing to go for his morning ride.

"Enrico Parea, you are wrong about Dr. Cooper. Duarte is a lecherous dog and soon the whole world will know what kind of man he is. He tried to kill Dr. Cooper down on the ice and he is being called to accounts. Your precious Eduardo gave our daughter a sex disease as well. That is why she broke her engagement to that filthy whore monger!"

Enrico sputtered invectives and then told the stableman to prepare two more horses. He was going to take the tall American and his daughter riding and try to mend fences. He was a proud man but not above admitting he was wrong.

"See to it that you apologize, Enrico, in front of Juliana, or your bed will be very cold in the future. Now, go and make amends. And be back before lunch. We have a dowry to discuss and wedding plans to make, you old fool!"

* * *

Enrico Parea eyed Sheldon as he and Juliana walked to the stables holding hands. He saw his daughter's smile when the bearded man laughed at something she said.

'_Hopefully this one will at least keep his willie in his pants for Juliana's sake. I will have my own vengeance on Duarte. A father's vengeance.'_

"Juliana, take the mare. Dr. Cooper, El Diablo is frisky this morning, so take care." He rather hoped the horse would dump the man on his ass and embarrass him in front of Juliana but…

Sheldon eyeballed the horse, standing in front of it and checked the fit of the halter and bridle. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sugar cube he'd pocketed when he heard they were going 'riding'. He hated horses. Big animals with strong wills and when he'd ridden the last time, he'd ended up on his butt.

Sheldon walked to the horse's side and it turned it's head and watched him. He was a 'kicker' and he planned on showing this man who was boss by kicking him when he walked around behind him.

He glanced at the horse and smirked. It was as if he could read it's mind. Well, time to show it who was the boss. He kneed the horse in the belly and pulled the saddle cinch tighter and smiled grimly. It had been loose and he knew from experience that he'd have looked like a fool when he tried to mount and the saddle slipped.

His brother had been a mean son of a bitch even at 12 and Sheldon had been his favorite target for painful pranks.

Sheldon walked up to the horse's head and handed it the palmed sugar cube and whispered that he'd be the one kicked if he tried to fuck around.

"Have you ridden before, Dr. Cooper?" asked Juliana's father, knowing full well that the man knew his way around a saddle.

"Yes, although not in some years. I'm from Texas," he said, as if that alone would explain his actions.

The ride was pleasant even though the day was hot. He flashed back to the ice and shivered, something both Jules and her father noticed.

"Shel, baby, the ice is a long way away and it's warm and we're together. Don't worry about it. Besides, soon you'll be a Nobel Prize winner and no one will ever doubt you again."

"Is he ill, Juliana? It is quite warm. Is it something he picked up from the Antarctic?" Jules' father was a bit of a germaphobe although nothing like Sheldon.

"No, but I can always tell when he's thinking about his time on the ice. He survived when others would have given up and died, papa. Sometimes things remind him of it, that's all."

"Yes, I heard something about sabotage but surely – " her father started to say, figuring it could lead into an apology of sorts but she cut him off.

"Duarte tried to kill him because I would not sleep with him while Sheldon was on the ice overnight. He thought if he could eliminate my Sheldon, then he could easily assume his 'rightful place' between my legs." She watched Sheldon's face and saw his ruddy complexion grow more so with her admission. She waited for the explosion but none came – it was her father who grew angry.

"That bastard! If ever I see him, I'll thrash his ass good and proper and let everyone in Buenos Aires know what a goat fucker he is. He should be imprisoned for attempted murder of my future son-in-law not allowed to – "

"Mr. Parea, nothing would be gained from beating him. His public humiliation will be a lifelong revenge. Better he lives a long life knowing how happy Jules will be. The jealousy and envy will kill him eventually."

* * *

Hofstadter residence  
Princeton, NJ

"Penny, are you out of your frikkin' mind?" Jislane was almost yelling at her best friend while helping her dress appropriately for a 2nd wedding.

"I sincerely hope not. He's changed, Jizzy, and you should be damned glad since your husband went to the same therapist. If just a month of so of therapy brought about this change in his son, I doubt his father will ever stray again."

"He better not. I've got pinking shears in my nightstand drawer and I'll Bobbetize his cheating ass if he so much as _thinks_ about breaking his vows. Besides…I'm pregnant, Penn, and the 2nd trimester might make me a widow."

"Oh, Jizzy! How far along? Do you know the sex yet? Does _he _know yet?" Penny gushed questions rapid fire not allowing Jislane to answer one before popping another.

"Penny…I haven't told him yet. I'm afraid he might feel it's too much to handle this late in his life."

"He'll be thrilled, Jizz, trust me on this. Leonard might be a bit shocked though. A new brother or sister at _his_ age!" They both laughed and then Jislane walked with Penny out into the garden where Leonard and a Justice of the Peace waited to marry them again.

She had no idea that Sheldon Cooper had survived his ordeal on the ice nor that her husband knew about it and chose not to tell her until after the wedding. He didn't want anything to get in the way of his marriage to the only woman he truly loved. Not even the resurrection of her best friend.

* * *

Sheldon and Juliana flew to Miami and then on to Galveston. Sheldon held her hand the entire time. He wasn't a good flier and he was nervous about reuniting with his family and also still recovering from his in-laws gift of 100 square miles of prime grazing land as a wedding gift.

"Jules, your parents don't really expect us to give up our academic careers to become ranchers, do they?" They'd had this conversation before and as always she reassured him.

"Of course not, honey. They just want us to have a place of our own to retreat to when life gets hectic and to retire to when we get old and crotchety. The house _is_ rather large though for just the two of us. Perhaps we can do something about it?"

"Jules, please tell me you're not pregnant? Your father would 'thrash my ass' if you got pregnant before the wedding. He's old school and has that strange Argentine morality streak."

"Not yet, but not for lack of trying. I'm ready to start a family, my love, now that I've found my soul mate. I've proven my theory that the Antarctic was once a warm and green place and I haven't found much else to pique my scientific curiosity so…perhaps a baby or two to keep me busy?"

"Twins run in my family, Juliana. Are you certain – "

"Yes. I'm off the pill and I've taken a needle to your stash of condoms. The sooner the better!"

* * *

Galveston

His mother cried and thanked Jesus and her prayer group while his sister shyly talked with Juliana who intimidated her both because she was nearly as tall as she and because she was 'scary smart' like her eight minutes older brother whom she adored.

"So, you and Shelly are going to tie the knot? I don't know if I can get my mother off my brother long enough to give the big guy a hug. You know all about his schedules and his OCD and his phobias, right? And you're _still_ gonna marry him?"

"What can I say, Melissa? It was love at first sight for me. Those blue eyes, that wry sense of humor, his beautiful mind…"

"Don't hurt him, Juliana. He's very fragile and – "

"Never! He is the one for me. When I thought he was dead I had no taste for life. It was he who saved me, even though he was thousands of kilometers away, he saved me."

As clingy as his mother was, Rajesh was worse. He wept like a baby and affixed himself to Sheldon like a limpet until Leslie finally pried him away and then took his place.

"You do something like that again, Dumbass, and I'll hunt you down and hurt you. Raj and I…well, you brought us together, your death I mean, and well, I'm glad we're all together again. It's good to have you back, Cooper, even if you're full of crap about String Theory!"

Howard and Bernadette both cried and Sheldon finally called a halt to it.

"Listen, I'm covered with snot and Lord knows what kind of pathogens you six harbor but enough is enough. At least on the ice I didn't have to worry about catching Lord knows what from the occasional penguin. Besides, this is the woman I'm marrying and it's high time she got introduced."

Sheldon felt almost whole again. He was looking out over the crowds but –

Leslie answered his unasked question.

"She – er, they aren't coming, Sheldon. They got divorced but right about now they're remarrying. Leonard's been in therapy that helped his dad and then Penny disappeared about the same time you did…and when she came back she wanted to start over."

'_I'm so sorry, Moon Pie. I never meant things to go this far.'_

"Honey, are you okay? Are you still feeling a bit tired from your ordeal?" Jules knew that look. He was back on the ice again but what sent him back this time?

* * *

They had a wonderful visit but all too soon it was time to leave and Sheldon finally did something he was putting off. _'If I don't see it, it's not real and I can pretend she's at home, baking and cleaning and – '_

When Sheldon's death had been announced, his beloved Meemaw had suffered a massive coronary and passed away. Sheldon hadn't quite come to terms with his loss yet.

"Juliana, I'd like you to meet my grandmother, Meemaw. It'll just take a second and we can drop by on our way to the airport. Missy won't mind the detour a bit."

The visit to the small but well-kept cemetery was a revelation to Jules. Her husband had wept uncontrollably but then pulled himself together and became a stronger man.

"She's at peace. What more can one ask for than peace of mind? Let's go home, Jules. We have a wonderful journey ahead of us and I am strangely excited to begin it."

* * *

The return flight was just as tedious for Jules and as nerve wracking for Sheldon. She found herself looking at her future husband with new eyes. Where before she thought him somewhat distant and aloof from people, she now knew that it was just a question of Sheldon fitting them into his life before 'relaxing' around them. She certainly enjoyed his idea of relaxation when they were in private.

"I love you, Shel. Never doubt that." She made the statement as they were arriving back at her apartment. The University had emptied his out and put his personal items in storage and it was now leased to a visiting lecturer from Italy. Sheldon was staying with her until after the wedding when they'd be moving into the family apartment in Central Buenos Aires.

"I never doubted it for an instant. Why should I?"

"Because you are a man of science and science is a cruel mistress. No matter how lost you become in your white boards and quest, I know you love me because you show it all the time in little things you'd never do for another. I just wanted to reinforce your understanding of the depths of my love for you, nothing more."

Later that evening after making love, Sheldon asked, "Have I given you any reason I would dount your love for me? I can't think of one but then you _are_ a woman and your thought processes are so _alien_ to me…"

She just laughed and then kissed him deeply and sighed. "I've never felt more loved in my life, honey. I've found my other half, even if he is a _physicist_." She said 'physicist' like it was unpleasant but wanted to enjoy the banter that followed such a statement.

"I beg your pardon! Physics is the basis of all knowledge. You people who play around in ancient dirt are the weak-minded ones. Let me again demonstrate the principle of the 'screw' and see if eons-old diatoms can hold your interest as well."

Her giggles were soon stifled by his mouth and replaced by gasps and whimpers.

Two years after exchanging vows, Sheldon Cooper and his wife, Juliana, welcomed Marisa Parea Cooper into the world. Eight minutes later, her twin, Isabella, was born. Twins did indeed run in the family.

* * *

Princeton, NJ

Despite their best efforts, Penny and Leonard were unable to conceive and it brought stress to the marriage that was exacerbated by Leonard's feelings of inadequacy. They talked about adoption but Penny wanted a baby of her own, not someone else's.

Jislane's little boy, Ben, quickly became Penny's favorite and even Beverly took a shine to the dark-eyed, precocious child and allowed him to call her 'Auntie Bev' when he got old enough to talk.

Leonard's feelings of inadequacy were further intensified by the news that his father, 34 years older, had managed to knock up Jislane again.

And then Sheldon won the Nobel Prize for Physics and things got worse – a lot worse.

* * *

Sheldon and his wife, Juliana, were coming to New York City to accept some award and Penny had read about it and demanded that Leonard contact Sheldon and ask if they had time to spend a few days with their friends here in Princeton.

He was backed into a corner when Beverly announced that she'd already invited 'the Coopers' to stay at her home in Princeton and get reacquainted with his old friends.

There was no way he could avoid his old roommate and 'best' friend now. Not with his mother and his wife on his ass.

It had been four years since that dinner in Pasadena, four long and eventful years but for Leonard it was pure hell.

Here was Sheldon Cooper, the robot, who suddenly morphed into a world famous physicist and husband to an incredibly sexy woman who looked like a swim suit model despite having two children – children that Sheldon simply could not quit running his mouth about, or so it seemed.

They were sitting on Beverly's patio drinking beer (another change he had trouble accepting – Sheldon's new-found tolerance for alcohol in moderation) when Sheldon asked if he and Penny were planning on children.

"Sheldon, I don't think that's any of your business. You haven't changed a bit, have you? Deep down inside, you're still a selfish, arrogant and tactless ass."

"You're right, of course. It's none of my business but Penny wants children, Leonard. That's all she and Jules have talked about – kids. They're really not all _that_ bad, Leonard. Being a father is the highest calling I can imagine."

"Yeah, well that's not gonna happen anytime soon, Cooper, and I'd appreciate it if you told your wife to back off on the subject. In fact, I insist on it. Penny cannot conceive. It's a touchy subject and I'd appreciate a little discretion for her sake."

"Of course. Anything for Penny. She's just as I remembered her, although she doesn't smile as much as before."

Leonard had a night class and Beverly offered to take Penny home so Leonard left without so much as a goodbye.

"He's jealous of you, you know. He's never quite forgiven you for not staying dead. Leonard's quite pleased to tell people all about his friendship with Sheldon Cooper but he's jealous, Moon Pie."

Penny had finally found time to talk with her best friend alone. Juliana had begged off dinner saying she was tired and Penny took the opportunity to talk with him in the privacy of the garden.

"You called me that in Antarctica, Penny. That and a lot of other things, some not so nice or endearing."

"What? I did _what_ in Antarctica?"

"My subconscious and I spoke many times during my trek and during the time at the Summer Research Station. It was your voice I heard urging me not to give up, reminding me of my obligations and my goals and finally reminding me that I was crazy to trek back across the ice on a 'hunch'. You kept me sane, Penny."

She sat nursing her 4th drink of the night and looked up at him from her seat on the bench. "I almost died when Beverly told me you were dead, Shel. I was in the middle of a divorce, my life was in shambles and then she dropped that bombshell on me…"

"I'm sorry about that, Penny, but it was sabotage again just like the North Pole expedition. I'm sorry you suffered mental distress but you seem fine now. You and Leonard are a couple again and you seem very much at ease around Beverly. That's progress I never expected to see from you."

"I loved you, Sheldon. Did you know that? All those years in 4B I was falling in love with the guy from 4A but hooking up with anyone else but him. I wish…"

"I loved you too, Penny, although I was much too stupid to recognize it until you came down that evening to the laundry room and told me of your engagement. I think that's when I labeled the emotion."

"Do you love her, Sheldon?" meaning Juliana.

"Without reservation. She is my life, she and the girls. I would be nothing without her just as you would be nothing without Leonard."

"Do you still love _me_, Moon Pie, if only just a little?" She felt a tear drop slip down her cheek and wiped it away hastily with the back of one hand.

"You were my first love, Penny. I shall always hold you in my heart."

"Sheldon, could you, I mean, just this one time and never again, could you kiss me, please?"

He wasn't shocked by her request but he was uncomfortable with it but this was Penny, not some trollop of a grad student wishing to trade sex for a grade.

"Just this once, Penny."

It was sweet and she felt another tear slip down her cheek and when he ended it she almost cried out.

"Good night, Penny. Stay in touch."

* * *

2 Years Later

T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. It took her from him in less than 8 months after diagnosis. Nothing seemed to work and finally she just gave up.

"My love, I'm tired. You have to let me go, Sheldon. I'll always love you and I thank God for giving you to me if only for a little while."

He held her hand long after she quit breathing. The nurse finally came and gently pried her hand from his and led him out into the hallway where his in-laws were already in tears.

"I'm sorry. She's gone."

Life got hectic and he found his time stretched to the max dealing with two 3-year olds who didn't recognize that their father was grieving for his lost love and who demanded his time more and more.

He was rich after winning the Nobel even after the government took it's hefty bite out of the $1.5 million dollar award that came with the fancy plaque so he hired a nanny and a cook and threw himself into his work and his girls.

Despite the renewed efforts of his friends to find him a suitable match, he declined any and all social obligations that weren't work or family related.

In short, he became exactly as he'd been in Pasadena only this time he functioned quite well in society – given that he'd had his heart ripped from his body by a merciless disease that took away his Juliana.

* * *

In New Jersey it was a different story. There was a disease that found its way into the Hofstadter marriage – alcohol. Only this time it wasn't Leonard who was the problem. No. It was Penny.

"Going out again tonight? What do you and Jislane find to talk about all the time? Maybe you should think about getting into community theatre or volunteering to work with the drama department at the University."

"We talk about the kids, you, her husband, our lives and we drink, Leonard, and tell each other lies about how happy we are and how perfect our lives are."

"You came back to me and asked for a do-over. Do you regret it?" He burned with furious anger at his wife but mostly at himself for not being who she needed to make her happy.

"Do bears shit in the woods, Leonard? You work, we go out to dinner, I sit around all day, just what the hell kind of life do I have?"

"I've been on the straight and narrow and I've never strayed. Maybe we should see a counselor? It worked for me, Penny.

"Maybe I should see a divorce lawyer." She grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house, hating her husband and herself for what they'd allowed themselves to become.

A year later the Beta Test ended in divorce court only this time Beverly offered a mother's support to her son who was torn apart by the divorce.

Penny sold everything she'd been awarded in the divorce and after a great deal of soul-searching, she bought a one-way ticket to Paradise.

_Okay, so maybe I lied a wee bit but the epilogue will tie things up nicely, you'll see._

_Reparata_


	11. Final Decisions

**A/N: I got lost in the details and honestly I'm not looking forward to ending this. I've really got invested in the story – something I almost never allow to happen and so…another chapter.**

* * *

Final Chapter – Moving On

Sheldon and his girls spent every weekend and holiday with their grandparents at their Estacio. He used the time to visit Jules and allow her parents time to get to know their only grandchildren and spoil them rotten.

He stood beside her grave, a large bas-relief capstone lying on the ground as tradition demanded. He'd wanted to have a likeness of her carved from the finest marble to grace it but cooler heads (Enrico, surprisingly enough) simply mentioned that 'Juliana found such ostentatious displays distasteful' and that banished it from Sheldon's mind.

"I miss you, Jules, and so do the girls. Your mother pesters me to move on with my life and find a suitable mother for her grandchildren but I just can't even consider such an action. I know, I know, you lectured me long enough when your illness was deemed terminal but – "

He wiped tears from his cheeks with his sleeves, not at all concerned about germs or anything remotely like them for once in his life. His little girls brought home every disease known to man from pre-school and so he'd become inured to the possible consequences.

In other words, he didn't give a rat's ass about much but work and his family.

"But Jules, I – I can't bring myself to even look at another woman without feeling my heart break a little because she's not you. My life is so empty without you and were it not for our children, I'd end it."

He spent the next hour talking about their girls' antics and what cute things they'd done and how much they already looked like their mother except for the green eyes. "Marisa has your sense of humor while Isa has your innate curiosity. They both will break hearts when they get older, Jules, and they're growing up so _fast…"_

He finally told her how much he loved her and missed her and that he'd see her 'next week as usual', and not to worry. He would always love her until they met again.

* * *

Amelia Parea was worried about her son-in-law. He was a mere shadow of the man she'd met and she worried about him being alone with just the twins for company.

"Sheldon, you should find a good Argentine girl, perhaps a widow, to warm your heart again and be a mother to our twins. Surely you have mourned my daughter enough? It has been – "

"Amelia, please don't start again. I have no desire to bed another woman or to bring a stranger into our home. I'm comfortable with things the way they are. The children have their nanny and my cook spoils them almost as badly as you and Enrico do. Leave it alone, please."

* * *

Princeton, NJ

"Penny Hofstadter, you need to get your act together and quit traipsing around the world looking for someone to take his place. I know Leonard was a putz but – "

"Jizzy, it's Penny _Ford_. I took back my maiden name with the second divorce. Look, I'm just seeing the world, one country at a time. I always wanted to see Fiji but I could never get Leonard to take me so I went there on my own."

"So how was Paradise?" She envied Penny her freedom but not her loneliness. Although she looked tanned and healthy, her eyes told the truth – she was miserable. The eyes never lie.

"I got bored, got a work permit and taught English in a convent school. I was happy doing it, Jizz, and the headmistress wanted me to stay but I had to move on, y'know? A year away from home was just what I needed."

"It's been more than a year, Penny Ford. So where to next, Penn? Coming home? We miss you and these Skypes just aren't the same. I need my party pal, Penny, and Ben misses you and you never got to meet your namesake and she's almost 2 now."

"Back off the guilt, Jislane. How's Beverly?" She hadn't kept in touch with her ex-mother-in-law at all other than dropping her the occasional note or post card.

"She's getting old, Penny. She sold the big house and has basically retired. She's traveling the world much like you are but she's going from University to University guest-lecturing and now she's on her way to Argentina. Say, isn't that where Sheldon and Juliana live?"

"It's just Sheldon and the twins, Jislane. I got a letter from Missy. She passed on, Jizz, and he's alone with the twins. Missy says he Skype's his mom once a week or so and spends the weekends and holidays with his girls out on his Estacio."

"Aw, I'm sorry, Penny. I didn't know. I suppose that's another thing dear Lenny never got around to sharing."

"How is he? I never expected him to fight the divorce but he did."

"He's seeing that Indian whore of his again. I think it's the real deal with them. She's working in Philadelphia and spends a lot of her time down here. Get this – she and Beverly got quite chummy and Lenny was so pleased. I think he's going to ask her to marry him."

"Penn, I have to go. It's too quiet in the kitchen and that means," there was a crashing sound and then a child's wail, "some one needs Mommy. Talk with you later."

Penny sat back and thought about the past and invariably her thoughts turned to Sheldon. How was he was he handling being a single dad? Was he seeing anyone?

'_I really should call him and see how he's doing. I never thought life would be like this. Yeah, I'll call him – tomorrow.'_

* * *

Parea Family Apartment  
The Hippodrome  
Buenos Aires, Argentina

His girls were spending the summer holiday with their grandparents and for the first time, Sheldon stayed in Buenos Aires instead of making the trip to the Parea Estacio. He had a paper to finish and then a faculty 'dinner party' to attend later in the month.

Apparently he was getting another award for some theory he'd developed that had led to a startling breakthrough in understanding gravity.

Sheldon was finishing off his second Suntori and water when he heard his cell trill and he went in search of it. Unlike so many others, he viewed a cell phone as an intrusion not a convenience and left his wherever he'd last used it. It used to drive Juliana mad when he did it.

"Hello, this is Dr. Sheldon Cooper." He didn't recognize the number in caller ID other than it was an old Buenos Aires exchange.

"Sheldon, it's Beverly Hofstadter. I'm staying at the El Presidente and wondered if we might meet for drinks or dinner, assuming you can find a sitter on such short notice."

"The twins are out at Jules' folks' Estacio for the month so a sitter is no problem. I've given cook and the nanny the month off as well so I could use a decent meal."

* * *

They met at the hotel's 5-star restaurant and both hid the shock they felt at the other's appearance.

She'd lost weight. Her normally soft brown hair now appeared shot through with gray, but it was her eyes that told the sad tale.

"How long do you have, Beverly? How long since your diagnosis?"

"Wha – What?" Somehow he'd learned her secret and she didn't know how since she hadn't told a soul.

"Your eyes. They have that same look in them that Juliana's had after her terminal diagnosis. I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable but I just want to know."

"A year, possibly more, but I didn't come here to discuss my health but rather to meet with an old friend and see how he's faring." If the hollow cheeks and sunken and dead-looking eyes were any indicator, not well at all.

They talked for almost two hours and Sheldon invited her back to his apartment to talk some more but she begged off citing how tired she was.

He loved walking in Buenos Aires with its broad boulevards and history on every corner. He laughed when he remembered how Juliana had been so excited when she got to tour the Presidential Palace (marriage to a Nobel Prize winner had perks) and stand where Eve Peron had once stood and addressed her adoring masses.

He walked home, lost in his memories and went to bed. Tomorrow he would finish his paper and then spend the day going through the bureaucratic nonsense involved in becoming a 'resident alien' of Argentina.

Once that was accomplished, he planned on resigning his chair at the University and moving out to his own Estancia and becoming a cattle rancher like his father-in-law and raising his daughters and finding what joy he could in the simple life.

* * *

Beverly wasn't tired at all. She was worried and had used her illness as an excuse to leave. She Skyped a call to her young friend, Jislane, and got right to the point.

"Jislane, I need to speak with Penny. Where is she and do you have her Skype information? I'm afraid I've forgotten it and I simply _must_ speak with her." Beverly had always liked her ex-daughter-in-law and found siding with her son more difficult that she'd expected but for once, she allowed her long-dormant maternal instincts to prevail.

"Beverly, why are you Skyping? Why not just call from home?"

"Because I'm in Argentina and I've just spent an evening with Sheldon Cooper and I'm worried about him and I thought perhaps Penny might be willing to call him and cheer him up a bit."

"I just spoke with her. I'm not sure exactly where she is but she left Fiji and is on the move. Here's her Skype info…"

* * *

Penny had just finished talking with her mother and was making plans to return to Omaha and spend some time with her family. They weren't getting any younger and she'd been away long enough.

She finished her glass of wine and was about to power down when she was alerted to another incoming Skype call – from Beverly Hofstadter, of all people.

"Hey, Bev – " She stopped, unsure how to proceed. Her ex-mother-in-law and friend looked terrible. She looked _old._

"Hello, Penny. It's been a while since we've spoken and I just wanted to touch base and ask a favor of you."

"Sure, although I'm in Jakarta, Indonesia and am flying out to Hawaii and then home tomorrow. Whatcha need?"

"I'd appreciate it if you could Skype Sheldon Cooper, if you wouldn't find it too awkward. Penny, I had dinner with him earlier and he looks so care-worn and I thought perhaps you might be able to find out what's wrong since he won't discuss much of anything personal with me except for his darling girls. Other than that, he's the Great Sphinx."

"Sheldon's in Princeton? What's he doing there, Bev, visiting Leonard and Jislane? I just – "

"No, dear, I'm not in Princeton. I'm in Buenos Aires and I have a lecture series at the University here and I called Sheldon. He sent his children to spend the summer holidays with his in-laws and he's at loose ends. Would you mind – unless it's too awkward for you."

"No, I'll – I'm fine with it. I should offer my condolences on the loss of Juliana but I only found out last month in a letter from his sister."

"Thank you. Y'know, he's unattached now…you're unattached…" Beverly allowed the hint of suggestion to color her voice.

"He just lost his wife, Beverly, and I'm not looking to stir up old emotional wounds. I'll call him sometime, if only to offer my condolences. Do you have his phone number?"

"It's been a year since her death and he needs a friend. From what I can determine his life consists of his children, his work, and his mourning."

Beverly gave her his cell phone number and his Skype address as well as the address of his family apartment in Buenos Aires 'in case you'd elect to send a condolence card rather than be a true friend'.

"Beverly, I said I'd call him." Her tone was curt and she didn't mean to hurt Beverly's feelings but she was finally getting her own feelings under control and had no wish to open up old wounds.

'_I still love him and if I'm honest, he's always been the real reason for all my failures with men. Hmm, Argentina? I always wanted to see gauchos. But what if he's no longer my friend? What if he's still mourning the loss of Juliana? I can't handle another failure – I'll just…send him a condolence letter. Yeah. That'll work.'_


	12. Epilogue

Chapter 12 Moving On

_**A/N: First, to those narrow-minded anal pores who 'hate' anything not canon or abhor the idea of any 'Sheldon/Other' no matter how brief or tasteful, I send a big middle finger salute. To the rest of you who've bravely read through the tripe, my thanks. I have two other fics and when they're done, I'm packing TBBT fics away. The characters as written today on the show are shallow shadows of the earlier seasons. Poor Penny. Poor Kaley - reduced to doing commercials that make her look fat and stupid but at least she's not drunk in them.**_

_**This is the epilogue. Fill in the blanks yourself.**_

* * *

Savoy Hotel  
Jakarta, Indonesia

She cancelled her reservations to Bali, all thoughts of hooking up with some rich Aussie hunk of a surfer gone from her mind. She glanced at her room clock and tried to compute the time in Buenos Aires. Between the bottle of wine she'd finished off after talking with Beverly and an inability to picture just where Argentina was in terms of time zones, she decided to call regardless of the time in Argentina.

Penny keyed in the Skype info and waited for the call to connect when she suddenly realized that it was a _SKYPE_ call and she was wearing just a robe.

She slammed the lid of the laptop closed, disconnecting the call and promised herself she'd call 'in the morning' and curled up on her bed and fell into a deep sleep, plagued by dreams of missing trains and planes, of being late for a dinner, and of just missing him before he left for another expedition to the South Pole.

_He,_ of course, was her Moon Pie, her Whack-a-doodle, Sheldon Cooper.

* * *

Parea Family Apartment  
The Hippodrome  
Buenos Aires, Argentina

He glanced at the clock and fumbled for his cell phone, not truly awake but beset by thoughts that one of the twins might be ill and Amelia was calling with dire news.

It wasn't his cell phone. He'd left his computer on and an incoming Skype call was making enough noise to wake the dead, or him, as it turned out.

He didn't recognize the incoming address but then he got Skype and email from all over the world since winning the Nobel so he just clicked on 'Accept Video' and waited.

"Hi, Shel, it's Penny Ford." She looked at him and realized she'd woken him from a sound sleep. No matter. The nagging dreams had awakened her and her subconscious was still beating a drumbeat on her mind:

'_Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him Call him'_

"I see that, Penny. Is anything wrong?" He glanced at his watch and sighed. He had to get up in an hour anyway.

"No, nothing's wrong. Can't a girl call her best friend and talk? More importantly, to offer her condolences on Juliana? I know you and the twins must miss her and I only found out when Missy wrote me. Mail in Fiji is spotty and it took forever for someone to make the connection between Penelope Hofstadter and Penny Ford."

"Thank you, Penny, that's very thoughtful of you. Fiji? What – oh, have you run off with some rich undergraduate? I heard about the divorce from Beverly. I'm sorry things didn't work out."

"Are you, Shel? Are you really sorry or are you just making use of your new-found social skills?"

"Well, of course I'm sorry. Why would I want you to fail at yet another relationship? You were my best friend, Penny, and despite his betrayals, I was quite fond of Leonard."

"_Were_? Do you have a _new_ 'best friend'? Have I been replaced so easily, Sheldon?" She didn't mean to sound so petulant.

"I could never replace you, Penny. We share too many memories for me to cast you aside and I've never needed new friends to fill the void. I have my work and my family and 'friends' are incidental."

There was an awkward lull in the conversation and then Penny brought up the reason for her call – the _real_ reason. He looked terrible and not because she'd interrupted his REM cycle. He looked thin and drawn and his eyes, always so bright and lively, now seemed dull.

"How are you, Moon Pie? Losing Juliana must have been hard. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to comfort you. I'm sorry for a lot of things, Shel."

"Yes, it was. And you have nothing to apologize for, Penny. You were in the midst of your own tragedy. Seriously, Penny, how are you? You look healthy and despite your fair complexion, you seem to have tanned well. Please remember to use sunscreen when sunbathing on the beaches of beautiful Fiji. I couldn't bear the loss of another loved one."

"I'm in Jakarta on my way to Hawaii and then home to see my folks. Fiji was wonderful and I even taught English in a convent school, Shel. But more importantly, do you?"

"Do I what, Penny?" He could never follow her conversations for long. Her mind operated differently and she would segue from topic to topic without warning.

"Do you still love me?" There. It was out of the shadows and in the light of day. The question she'd promised herself she wouldn't ask because she was terrified of the answer.

"You and Juliana are the only women I've ever loved and I lost you both to circumstances beyond my control."

"You used the past tense, Shel."

He hadn't meant to but he had and now she was going to make an issue of it and he was still mourning his wife. Telling her the truth would seem to be a betrayal of his love for his wife but he couldn't lie, not to her, and not about this.

"I still love you both, Penny. Does that answer your question satisfactorily?"

"Moon Pie, would it be inappropriate for me to drop in on an old friend for a few days? Argentina isn't all that far from Omaha considering where I am. I could stay at a hotel and wouldn't be in the way of your teaching and lecturing and I'd love to see your daughters. You must be so proud of them."

"I would love to see you, Penny, but – "

"Oh, okay, I understand. Well, Skype works both ways, Sheldon. Call any time." She started to disconnect the call, feeling the pressure in her sinuses as tears began to form.

"No, wait! I meant that the girls are with their grandparents on their Estacio. We could go out and see them. It's not all that far. Six hours by car and yes, Penny, I drive."

"Oh, that would be nice but I don't want to put you in an awkward position with Juliana's parents. I mean you lost your wife and it would seem, I don't know, awkward is the only word that comes to mind."

"When can I expect you? I'm at loose ends this entire month except for an awards dinner in a few weeks. You can stay here. I have five bedrooms although the cook is off for the month so we'll have to do our own cooking or go out."

"Let me check and see the flights and I'll call you with my schedule. I'm looking forward to seeing you, Sheldon. I'll call you, okay?"

"Fine. Until then, goodbye, Penny."

"Oh, wait! One more thing."

She took a deep cleansing breath.

"You haven't lost me, Sheldon. I'm right here…"

She started to disconnect the call but she saw how his eyes filled with tears as he only nodded, his face crumpling, unable to speak.

"… and I still love you, Moon Pie, and I always will."


End file.
